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Arlington police car (file photo)

Arlington County police are looking for a pair of suspects in a serious assault yesterday evening.

The incident happened Sunday just before 6 p.m., at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive in Buckingham. According to scanner traffic, the victim was beat up by two men and, while he was down, kicked in the head.

The victim was found on the ground, reportedly bleeding from the head. The suspects fled the scene but a witness told police that he had video of the attack.

More, below, from today’s ACPD crime report.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2023-06040185, N. Glebe Road at N. Pershing Drive. At approximately 5:51 p.m. on June 4, police were dispatched to the report of an assault just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim was pushed to the ground and assaulted by the two male suspects. The suspects fled the scene on foot and were not located by responding officers. The victim was treated on scene for serious, non-life threatening injuries and refused transport to the hospital. Suspect One is described as Hispanic male, approximately 25-35 years old, 5’5”-5’6”, wearing a white shirt and white pants. Suspect Two is described as a Hispanic male. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in today’s crime report, a woman allegedly threatened a male victim with a knife along Columbia Pike early Saturday morning.

From ACPD:

ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING (Late), 2023-06030223, 2900 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 7:45 p.m. on June 3, police were dispatched to the late report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 1:30 a.m., the known female suspect became involved in a verbal dispute with the male victim and a witness. During the dispute, the suspect allegedly approached the victim and brandished a knife before being separated by witnesses. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.

A new pet urgent care is hoping to open this weekend in Buckingham.

Urgent Animal Care of Arlington at ​​249 N. Glebe Road hopes to start caring for furry best friends by the weekend, per co-owner Kayleen Gloor. The business claims it’s the first “sole dedicated [animal] urgent care in any capacity within Arlington,” though others like Bond Vet in Clarendon bill themselves as combination urgent and primary care for pets.

The veterinarian urgent care is from the team behind Clarendon Animal Care, which has locations in Clarendon and on Columbia Pike.

ARLnow first reported the pet urgent care was making its move to Buckingham back in January. It’s in the space once home to a SunTrust Bank branch, which closed more than four years ago. Following the style of the shopping center, the clinic is topped by art deco neon signage that glows at night.

While initially the opening was planned for the winter, the need to upgrade power led to a push.

“Delays were due to increased power needs due to the equipment we have (new HVAC and X-ray machine), so we were waiting on the power upgrade in order to get final inspections,” co-owner Natasha Ungerer told ARLnow via email.

An urgent care clinic for a pet differs from an emergency room in terms of the severity of the issue and what can be treated. The clinic is intended for “pets in stable condition that cannot wait to see their regular veterinarian,” per the website, with issues “that fall between a primary veterinarian practice visit and an emergency.”

The conditions that can be treated at a veterinarian urgent care include:

  • Serious cuts
  • Vomiting and diarrhea
  • Trouble walking
  • Difficulty urinating
  • Prolonged low appetite
  • Limping
  • Mild injuries
  • Ear and skin problems

The clinic is appointment-based but walk-ins are often still available. The hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays with weekend hours running from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The hope is to go to seven days a week, so adding Tuesday and Wednesday hours, starting in mid-July, Ungerer said.

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A water main on N. Glebe Road set to be replaced (via Arlington County)

A 96-year-old water main along N. Glebe Road near Ballston is set to be replaced, starting later this year.

The pipe segment runs about a third of a mile from N. Randolph Street to N. Pershing Drive, between the Buckingham and Ashton Heights neighborhoods.

Arlington County says that this work is needed to improve the flow of water to area fire hydrants, dubbed “fire flow,” and support demand in the neighborhood. Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a contract for $2.1 million with A&M Construction Corporation to execute the project.

The county included some $424,400 in contingency funding in case the contractor finds “unsuitable soils or unknown existing underground utilities,” among other risks, according to a county report.

This project is “part of [the] county’s effort to replace old unlined cast iron pipes which are subjected to internal and external corrosions that reduce the fire flow capacity,” the document said. “In the past few years, the main had an excessive number of breaks that prompted the need for replacement.”

Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesman Peter Golkin tells ARLnow that there is currently no construction schedule, “as it takes some time for [the purchasing department] to execute such a contract.”

“But based on previous comparable projects, this one won’t begin until this summer and more likely in the fall,” he said.

Golkin says the county expects the work will take 1.5 years to complete and will affect 26 properties: 19 residential and seven commercial.

“Water interruptions will be coordinated in advance with those impacted,” he said.

The replacement work will require single-lane closures on Glebe from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.

Crews will likely work overnight once they reach an intersection. More information on these traffic impacts will be relayed to residents via the project website, which will launch closer to the start of construction, and through the Buckingham and Ashton Heights civic associations, per the county.

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(Updated at 2 p.m.) A 40-year-old Arlington man has been arrested and charged with murder.

James Ray Williams is accused of fatally shooting a man at an apartment on the 100 block of N. Thomas Street in the Buckingham neighborhood earlier this week.

Police say Williams was arrested Friday evening on the 4200 block of Henderson Road, also in the Buckingham neighborhood and just a few blocks from the crime scene. In addition to murder, he is facing several gun and drug charges.

More from an Arlington County police press release, sent this afternoon.

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing the arrest of a suspect for his involvement in a fatal shooting in the Buckingham neighborhood.

During the course of the investigation, detectives developed a possible suspect description based on evidence located at the scene and witness interviews. Arrest warrants were obtained, and the suspect was taken into custody in the 4200 block of Henderson Road on the evening of March 31. James Ray Williams, 40, of Arlington, Va. has been charged with Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Schedule I/II Narcotics. The suspect is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Detectives continue to investigate the events that preceded the homicide. This incident remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

On Friday, ACPD identified the victim as a 28-year-old man.

The deceased has been identified as Sean Bowman, 28, of No Fixed Address. This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Court records show that Williams has at least twice been sentenced to prison for crimes in Arlington. That includes a net two-year sentence in 2010 for drug, gun and wounding charges, and a net eight-year sentence in 2013, with five years of probation after, for drug distribution and a probation violation.

Additional court records suggest that a man named James Williams, with the same birthday as James Ray Williams, was arrested for petty larceny in Arlington recently, on Feb. 5, but was released on a summons. He failed to appear at an arraignment on March 1 in the larceny case and was declared a fugitive, according to the records.

One law enforcement source tells ARLnow that the petty larceny suspect is not the same James Williams as the murder suspect. Contacted by ARLnow, an ACPD spokesperson declined to provide any clarification.

“An individual’s criminal history is protected under Virginia Code §19.2-389 and we cannot speak to any other possible criminal incidents involving the suspect,” said ACPD’s Alli Shorb.

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Police are investigating the first reported homicide of the year in Arlington.

According to Arlington County police, a man was found dead in an apartment on the 100 block of N. Thomas Street yesterday (Tuesday) morning. He was suffering from “upper body trauma,” police said.

More from an ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a homicide in the Buckingham neighborhood.

At approximately 11:25 a.m. on March 28, police and fire were dispatched to the 100 block of N. Thomas Street for the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined a maintenance worker entered the apartment and located the unresponsive adult male inside. Arlington County Fire Department medics pronounced the male deceased on scene.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim suffered upper body trauma. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death. The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]lingtonva.us. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

The apartment building is located on the same block at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, as well as the Catholic church’s PreK-8 school.

The last reported homicide in Arlington happened in February 2022 on Columbia Pike.

Update on 4/1/23 — ACPD has identified the victim in this case.

The deceased has been identified as Sean Bowman, 28, of No Fixed Address. This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

File photo

Arlington County police are investigating an early morning carjacking that happened near Ballston over the weekend.

Police say three male suspects, at least one of whom was armed with a gun, approached a male victim who was parked on the 4100 block of N. Henderson Road. That’s just south of Ballston, in the Buckingham neighborhood.

“At approximately 3:15 a.m. on March 12, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” said today’s ACPD crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was in his parked vehicle when three unknown male suspects approached his car, brandished a firearm and demanded the keys to the vehicle. The suspects then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle.”

“No injuries were reported,” the crime report continued. “The victim’s vehicle is described as a white Chrysler with Virginia license plate VTH1366. Officers canvassed the area for the suspects yielding negative results.”

The last reported carjacking in Arlington happened three days earlier, in Pentagon City. This is at least the ninth carjacking in Arlington so far this year. A total of 14 were reported in all of 2022, according to ACPD stats.

Also in this week’s crime report, four vehicles were broken into last week in the Pentagon City area, in a mini airbag theft spree.

More from ACPD:

LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series) (Late), 2023-03100073/03100074, 1400 block of S. Joyce Street/1100 block of Army Navy Drive. At approximately 7:28 a.m. on March 10, police were dispatched to the late report of multiple larcenies from auto. The investigation determined between approximately 9:30 p.m. on March 9 and 7:30 a.m. on March 10, the unknown suspect(s) shattered the driver’s side window to four vehicles, stealing airbags from three of them. Tires were stolen from two additional vehicles. The vehicles are described as Honda and Toyota models.

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New animal urgent care set to open in Buckingham in April (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 6 p.m.) A new urgent care for animals is opening this spring in Buckingham.

Urgent Animal Care of Arlington at ​​249 N. Glebe Road is aiming to open its doors “early April,” co-owner Dr. Kayleen Gloor told ARLnow via email. That is pushed back a bit from the hoped-for “winter 2023” opening.

It’s moving into a space that was formerly occupied by a branch of SunTrust Bank, which closed in 2019. In terms of the art deco neon signage the shopping center is known for, Gloor said the clinic’s signage “will follow all regulations and requirements of the shopping center and will conform.”

The veterinarian urgent care comes from the team behind Clarendon Animal Care, which has locations in Clarendon, on 10th Street N., and on Columbia Pike.

The urgent care will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 p.m. on weekends, we’re told.

This is Gloor and co-owner Dr. Natasha Ungerer’s first “daytime urgent care,” which is different than an emergency veterinary clinic.

Like for humans, urgent care is intended for animal patients in need of immediate care that does not rise to the level of an emergency situation. That could include limping, rashes, minor vomiting or diarrhea, ear infections, or coughing, per a graphic that the clinic has on its website.

Emergencies might include difficulty breathing, not eating or drinking for two days, seizures, and serious trauma. The closest emergency veterinary clinics to Arlington are located in Fairfax County. There are several existing pet urgent cares in Arlington, including one in Clarendon.

Gloor said the reason they choose N. Glebe Road in the Buckingham neighborhood is due to the proximity to their other pet-centric businesses as well as “zoning regulations within the county.”

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File photo

Crime doesn’t pay, the saying goes, and that is particularly true if you get punched during a failed robbery attempt.

According to Arlington County police, that’s what happened early this morning in the Buckingham neighborhood.

Around 12:30 a.m., a man armed with a knife tried to rob another man of money along the 200 block of N. Glebe Road — the same block as the CVS and the post office. It did not go as planned for the would-be robber.

From an ACPD crime report:

ROBBERY, 2022-12070004, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 12:32 a.m. on December 7, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the unknown male suspect who asked him for money. When the victim declined, the suspect allegedly displayed a knife and attempted to grab the victim. The victim then struck the suspect and ran from the area. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to the arrival of police. Responding officers canvassed the area for the suspect yielding negative results. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a skinny build, 5’11, wearing a red hat, red shirt, black pants and white shoes. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in today’s crime report, someone fired several gunshots into a residential building along the 2000 block of Columbia Pike around 4 a.m. That’s the same block as the Dorchester Towers and Dorchester Apartments complexes, east of Penrose Square.

So far, there is no indication that anyone was actually shot, but a door was damaged.

SHOTS FIRED, 2022-12070025, 2000 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 4:08 a.m. on December 7, police were dispatched to the report of shots heard. Upon arrival, officers recovered evidence outside a residential building confirming multiple shots had been fired and located property damage to a door within the building. No injuries were reported. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

The Cadence off of Arlington Blvd in the Buckingham neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

An affordable housing complex along Route 50 in the Buckingham neighborhood will officially open tomorrow.

The grand opening of The Cadence (4333 Arlington Blvd) on Tuesday, Dec. 6 caps off just over two years of construction. There will be remarks from project partners and local officials, followed by a ribbon cutting, community tour and reception, per the nonprofit behind the project, Wesley Housing.

Leasing began this fall for the five-story, 97-unit complex replaced the former American Red Cross building. The units are all set aside for households with an income at or below 70% of area median income.

“The community will provide safe, quality, affordable housing for low- to moderate-income working families and individuals just 1.2 miles from the Ballston-MU Metro Station,” Wesley said in a statement. “The community will also have a bus stop on-site.”

In its statement, the housing nonprofit extolled some of the community and architectural features of the project.

“With a striking exterior façade, a multipurpose community room, fitness center, free Wifi, and bold style, The Cadence is sure to complement the rhythm of residents’ lives,” the nonprofit said.

The property management arm of Wesley Housing will manage the community, while the nonprofit’s on-site resident services team will facilitate year-round programs and services.

The grand opening comes just after Wesley announced Kamilah McAfee will replace Wesley’s president and CEO of 15 years, Shelley Murphy. In recent years, the nonprofit has added staff to take on more development projects and provide residential services amid a continuing regional shortage of affordable housing.

Buckingham has a significant number of affordable housing units already, which made the project a source of consternation for some neighbors.

A stone’s throw from the apartments, two single-family homes were torn down and replaced with 19 market-rate townhouses. Wesley sold the land for the townhouses to Tysons-based home builder Madison Homes to help finance the affordable housing project, which also received state and county funding, loans and tax credits.

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All lanes of N. Glebe Road are closed just south of Quincy Street due to a crash involving an overturned vehicle.

The single-vehicle crash took down power lines, according to scanner traffic, and the southbound lanes of Glebe are expected to be shut down for an extended period of time as a result.

One person was reportedly taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Police are on scene and investigating the cause of the crash and whether the driver might have been intoxicated.

Dominion, meanwhile, is reporting via its outage map that nearly 2,750 homes and businesses are without power in the area of the crash. The utility company expects power to be restored between 3-6 a.m.

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Those in line to get coffee and donuts in the Buckingham neighborhood this morning were met with an unusual sight.

The driver of a white Volvo drove partially down an embankment next to the Dunkin’ drive-thru at 70 N. Glebe Road, becoming wedged between the sidewalk and the restaurant’s driveway. It’s not clear what led to the crash, though the drive-thru line is not typically associated with excess speed.

“I’m not sure what the story is or how the car ended up this way,” said a tipster, who called it an “odd scene.”

No emergency vehicles are seen in the photos above, which were taken around 7:45 a.m.

The Dunkin’ and its drive-thru lane opened in 2017, replacing a former KFC.

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