Commonwealth's Attorney

Arlington’s top prosecutor seeks better pay for staff, noting increased police salaries

Published April 9, 2026 at 2:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti speaks (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Arlington’s commonwealth attorney seeking higher pay for prosecutors this budget season, pointing to increased salaries for police officers and potentially better compensation in surrounding localities.

The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget calls for increasing funding for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office by roughly 3%: from about $7.7 million to $7.9 million. But Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told the Arlington County Board on Tuesday that prosecutors’ starting salary of $82,000 should be higher.

News

‘Soft interview room’ for victims of crime to be installed at Arlington courthouse

By Dan Egitto

Published March 20, 2026 at 9:15AM | Updated March 23, 2026 at 4:35PM

An example of a Project Beloved "soft interview" room (via Project Beloved/Facebook)

Victims of crime in Arlington will soon have a more soothing and intentionally designed space to speak with an attorney about their experiences.

A planned “soft interview room” from the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is intended to create a greater sense of ease and safety during victim interviews. With pleasant art, a couch, blankets and a soothing color palette, the room — created in partnership with the nonprofit Project Beloved — will finish installation next week on the fifth floor of the courthouse.

News

Sex offender again convicted of possessing child pornography, awaits indecent exposure trial

By Dan Egitto

Published February 5, 2026 at 11:45AM

Mugshot of Richard Cox, via Arlington County Sheriff's Office, and the W-L High School campus

A convicted sex offender accused of indecent exposure in multiple girls’ locker rooms in Arlington has been found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Richard Kenneth Cox — who is still awaiting trial for other instances of allegedly claiming to be transgender in order to access girls’ locker rooms at Arlington Public Schools pools and remain there while naked — was found guilty of two counts of possession of child pornography yesterday (Wednesday).

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Coalition including Arlington’s top prosecutor pledges accountability if feds commit crimes

By Jared Serre

Published January 29, 2026 at 3:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at an anti-ICE rally in Courthouse this month (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A coalition of progressive prosecutors including Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is promising to share strategies and pursue accountability for any illegal actions by federal agents.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti — alongside Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and prosecutors from Minneapolis, Philadelphia and other jurisdictions — announced the Fight Against Federal Overreach (FAFO) project yesterday (Wednesday). The initiative aims to “rein in unlawful conduct” amid a growing presence of federal immigration and law enforcement in communities across the country.

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Arlington’s top prosecutor fires back at House committee over allegations of ‘political bias’

By Dan Egitto

Published December 2, 2025 at 3:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at a recent event (staff photo by James Cullum)

Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is returning fire to the House Judiciary Committee for questioning her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation, accusing it of overstepping its authority.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has declined to provide numerous documents that Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requested regarding an investigation of a local activist critical of the Trump administration. Arguing that many of these documents are confidential, she suggested that the request is “an improper incursion” into Virginia’s sovereignty and her own authority over local cases.

News

Man convicted of sexually assaulting two women in Courthouse and Va. Square break-ins

By Dan Egitto

Published July 15, 2025 at 3:45PM

Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

A man has been convicted of breaking into multiple apartments in Courthouse and Virginia Square and sexually assaulting two women in April 2023.

A jury found Geremy Bridgeforth guilty of unlawfully entering three apartments in the middle of the night and, on two instances, sexually assaulting victims while they were sleeping, according to a press release from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

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Historic shotgun used to fight Rosslyn gambling and prostitution returns to public view

By Scott McCaffrey

Published June 4, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated June 4, 2025 at 4:49PM

Crandal Mackey, shown later in life with shotgun he used during Rosslyn raids of 1904 (photo courtesy Charlie Clark Center for Local History)

The following in-depth local history feature was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join to support local journalism and to get an exclusive version of our afternoon newsletter, plus an early look at what we’re covering each day.

Crandal Mackey was born in a Confederate field ambulance at the conclusion of the Civil War, and lived long enough to catch the first glimpses of the space race.

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Arlington prosecutor pushes for more staff despite budget crunch

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 11, 2025 at 9:45AM

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at her 2023 election watch party in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is pushing for an increase in funding for her office as the county continues to wrestle with a relatively tight budget.

At a budget work session last week, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti argued on behalf of three additional staff positions not included in the current budget draft.

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In wake of Pentagon City stabbing, local GOP ramps up criticism of prosecutor

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 7, 2025 at 9:45AM

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at her election watch party in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Republicans are setting their sights on the 2027 Commonwealth’s Attorney race amid an ongoing dispute between the county’s police union and its top prosecutor.

It’s been decades since the GOP has fielded a candidate in that particular race. However, local Republican chair Matthew Hurtt has joined the Arlington Coalition of Police in sharply criticizing Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti following a Pentagon City homicide.

News

EXCLUSIVE: Police union, prosecutor dispute prior case involving child stabbing suspect

By Dan Egitto

Published December 17, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated December 17, 2024 at 5:57PM

Stabbing suspect Leonardo Reyes (via ACPD) and a traffic camera view of the crime scene in Pentagon City

Arlington’s police union and top prosecutor are in a war of words over a previous case involving the Pentagon City stabbing suspect.

Leonardo Reyes, the man accused of sending a mother and her toddler to the hospital with life-threatening stab wounds in a Saturday night attack, was out on probation for the attempted robbery of a drug store in 2021.

News

Clinic for criminal charge expungements happening this weekend

By Dan Egitto

Published December 6, 2024 at 8:15AM | Updated December 6, 2024 at 8:50AM

Arlington County courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A clinic for Arlington and Falls Church residents seeking to get criminal charges expunged is taking place this weekend.

The clinic is for people who have been arrested and charged with a crime, but never convicted. It will take place at Arlington Presbyterian Church (918 S. Lincoln Street) from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 7).

News

Dehghani-Tafti presses for new strategies in resisting Trump, Republicans

By Scott McCaffrey and Dan Egitto

Published November 19, 2024 at 9:45AM

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at her election watch party in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Go-along-to-get-along will not be the strategy of Arlington’s top prosecutor as the nation heads into the second Donald Trump era.

Instead, she is asking those on her side of the political aisle to embrace new ways of fighting back.