A felon driving a minivan with allegedly stolen plates was pulled over Saturday night along northbound I-395.
The traffic stop just before the 14th Street Bridge involved a small fleet of Arlington County Police and Virginia State Police cruisers and was caught on video. The highway was blocked while the incident played out.
A 34-year-old D.C. man dubbed the “Beltway Bank Bandit” has pleaded guilty to charges connected to his use of a gun in three robberies, including one in Arlington.
Federal prosecutors say Freddie Lee McRae brandished a firearm when robbing a Wells Fargo branch and a Burke & Herbert branch, both in Alexandria, in late 2018. He also brandished a pistol on April 21, 2019, when he robbed the Legend Kicks and Apparel store on Columbia Pike in Arlington, prosecutors say.
Sometimes, things are not as they first appear. That seems to be the case with an incident in Clarendon early this past Saturday morning.
Police say an officer patroling the bar district “observed a subject with a knife and detained him without incident” around 2:15 a.m. But soon, police say it became clear that the man with the knife was actually a would-be Good Samaritan and the victim of a crime.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A group of armed robbery suspects managed to flee into D.C., eluding a phalanx of Arlington police cruisers after being chased across the county.
The incident started around 7:30 this morning. Officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of S. Ross Street, near The Wellington apartments and Columbia Pike, for a report of a person robbed at gunpoint and assaulted by four people he knew.
Arlington County Police are investigating a robbery and an attempted robbery that happened along the Columbia Pike corridor over the weekend.
In both incidents, the victims were pushed to the ground while walking, by a man who then tried to steal their belongings.
A 29-year-old D.C. man is behind bars after police say he pulled a gun on a tow truck driver early this morning.
The incident happened just before 3:30 a.m., near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive. Police say a tow truck driver was about to tow a car when the suspect approached, brandishing a gun and demanding the car be released. He then drove off.
Arlington County Police are investigating an armed robbery in the Virginia Square area last night.
The incident happened last night at 9:30 p.m., at or near the 7-Eleven store at 3510 Wilson Blvd. Police say two suspects, including one armed with a knife, slashed a bag the victim was holding and stole items from inside, including cash.
No Citations for Mass Gatherings in Arlington — “Gov. Ralph Northam is limiting social gatherings to 50% of event space capacity, or 250 people, whichever number is smaller. A spokesperson for Arlington County says ‘there have been no reports of social gatherings of this size’ in the locality. Arlington County’s police department has not issued any citations for mass gatherings, and has not levied any fines for people who flout rules regarding mask-wearing.” [DCist]
Prosecutor Explains Fight With Judges — “Taking the court to court to preserve the discretion of this office is the only way I know to protect the will of the voters who elected me. This is how we weave the quilt of criminal justice reform: each locality using its voice to demand change and put its values into elected offices. Town by town, county by county, we must fight to shape the communities in which we want to live.” [Washington Post]
(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) A man armed with a gun reportedly robbed the Sunoco at the corner of Washington Blvd and N. Glebe Road this morning.
The broad daylight robbery happened just before 9:45 a.m. Police are on scene and are currently searching for the suspect, who fled on foot.
Arlington County police are investigating an early morning armed robbery in Crystal City.
The incident happened just before 4 a.m. Monday, on the 1500 block of Crystal Drive. Police say a woman walked up behind another woman, who was on her phone, and “bear hugged” her while demanding the phone.
Arlington Gets Federal Arts Grant — “Arlington Cultural Affairs will receive a $35,000 Art Works award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)… [Arlington] will use the grant to support a multi-cultural artist residency project serving the Columbia Hills and Columbia Grove affordable housing communities.” [Arlington County]
Justin Trawick to Play ‘Secret’ Show — “We just got approval from Arlington County to present ‘Common Good on The Block’ benefiting the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Join ‘Justin Trawick and The Common Good’ for a secret street show with the full band on August 1st. This will be a socially distanced event and there are only 60 tickets available.” [Twitter]
Juneteenth Rally in Courthouse Today — “Please join the Arlington Black Employees Council for a 2020 Juneteenth Peace Rally on Friday, 11a-12p, outside at the Bozman Gov’t Center. The event will include a George Floyd tribute and recognition of victims of violence.” [Twitter]
Police Investigating Columbia Pike Robbery — “At approximately 1:24 a.m. on June 17, an officer was flagged down by the victim stating they had just been robbed. The investigation determined that the victim had exited a business when two unknown suspects approached him. One of the suspects struck the victim with an object appearing to be a firearm, causing him to fall to the ground. The suspects searched the victim’s person and fled the scene without taking anything from the victim.” [Arlington County]
