Arlington residents Earl Brown, 28, and Liban Jama, 24, were convicted of a brazen daytime hold-up at a gas station convenience store on the 4100 block of Four Mile Run Drive. The crime took place around 12:15 p.m. on December 25, 2011.
According to a police report, Jama entered the store, brandished a handgun, and demanded money and cigarettes from the cashier. With the stolen goods in hand, he then hopped into a getaway car driven by Brown.
Court Rules Against Doggie Daycare Mural — A federal appeals court has determined that Arlington County did not violate a business owner’s free speech by forcing her to cover up a mural that county code interpreted as a commercial sign. Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton had argued — unsuccessfully — that the mural was artwork and the county’s action violated her First Amendment rights. [Associated Press]
‘Leek American Bistro’ Coming to Ballston — A new American-style bistro is coming to Ballston. “Leek American Bistro” will feature “upscale” dishes in a casual atmosphere. Chef/owner Nathan Spittal says the new eatery, located in the former Thai Terrace space at 801 N. Quincy Street, will focus on locally-sourced ingredients and locally-sourced beer and wine. Spittal is the former owner of the BBQ Banditos food truck. [Washington Business Journal]
Prosecutors say Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis, Darren Martyn and Hector Xavier Monsegur — alleged members of the “hacktivist” group LulzSec — hacked into PBS servers last year in retaliation for what they perceived to be unfavorable coverage of Wikileaks by the PBS news program “Frontline.” At the time, news outlets reported that LulzSec defaced PBS.org and posted a fake story on the PBS NewsHour website suggesting that the late rapper Tupac Shakur was actually alive and well in New Zealand.
PBS is based in Crystal City and the PBS NewsHour is produced in Shirlington, though prosecutors say the organization’s computer servers were actually located in Alexandria.
A man is facing a possible 93-year prison sentence after being found guilty of raping an Arlington woman while she slept.
D.C. resident Ronald P. Berton, 37, was accused of crimes against two young Arlington women in 2008 and 2010. On Sept. 26, 2010, prosecutors say Berton entered unlocked first-floor apartment on the 2500 block of 20th Street N., where he found a woman sleeping. Berton raped the woman then stole items from the apartment and fled the scene. The woman, who had been drinking that night, did not wake up during the rape, but later woke up and found a condom next to her.
Denise Marshall Roller pleaded to 11 felony counts, including embezzlement, forgery and money laundering. The 48-year-old Fredericksburg, Va. resident had worked since 2005 as the county fair’s event manager. She resigned last May, after police were tipped off to suspicious activity.
Investigators discovered that between February and May of last year, Marshall Roller deposited nearly $12,000 of checks intended for the fair into a fraudulent bank account. Court documents show she submitted forged bylaws to a local bank, which apparently allowed her to open an account in the fair’s name. She withdrew portions of the money over the three month period for her personal use, prosecutors said.
Yonathan Melaku, 23, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to three counts of: damaging government property, using a firearm during a crime, and attempted injury to veterans’ memorials. Prosecutors and defense attorneys have jointly asked for a 25-year sentence.
As part of the plea, Melaku admitted that on or around the early morning of Oct. 19, 2010 he fired multiple 9mm rounds at the Pentagon building. He also admitted to firing bullets at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (twice), a Marine Corps recruiting sub-station in Chantilly, and a U.S. Coast Guard recruiting office in Woodbridge. The shootings took place between Oct. 17, 2010 and Nov. 2, 2010.
Javon Martin, 25, was arrested on a bench warrant and charged with robbery and murder in the first degree. A jury trial has been scheduled for April 23, according to court records.
Martin is one of two people charged in the case. His cousin, 20 year-old Roger K. Clark III, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in this case earlier this month. His sentencing is set for April.
As ARLnow.com first reported yesterday, a suspect in the case, Roger K. Clark III, has pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the case. In a statement of facts entered as part of the guilty plea, prosecutors say robbery was the motive behind the murder — and that Clark wasn’t the only perpetrator.
According to the statement, Clark and his cousin, Javon Martin — then 20 and 24 years of age, respectively — were driving around Arlington County early on the morning of Dec. 29, 2009 looking for someone to rob. They encountered Diener, 57, near the intersection of N. 13th Street and N. Hudson Street, three blocks from the Clarendon Metro station. It was around 3:00 a.m. and Diener was on his way to a part-time job at a local health club, police said at the time.
Roger K. Clark III entered a guilty plea on first degree murder charges today, prosecutors said. Circuit Court Judge Joanne F. Alper accepted the plea this afternoon. A sentencing hearing is now scheduled for April 27.
Diener, a 57-year-old Lyon Village resident, was found lying dead on a Clarendon street early on the morning of Dec. 29, 2009. A dogged investigation finally resulted in the arrest of Clark and another man in June 2011.
Rosslyn Exxon Robbed at Gunpoint — The Exxon at 1824 Wilson Boulevard, in the Rosslyn area, was robbed early Wednesday morning. Police say two men robbed the gas station at gunpoint around 2:50 a.m. “The suspects were both African American men in their 30’s, around 5’10,” Arlington County Police said in the department’s daily crime report. “One subject was wearing a ski mask; the other had a medium complexion and a small mustache.”
Wag More Dogs Case Heading Back to Court — In a newspaper op-ed entitled “Arlington County Scrooges Need Bigger Hearts,” Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton says the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear her case early next year. Houghton, with the assistance of the Arlington-based Institute for Justice, is suing Arlington County over a dog mural painted on the side of her Shirlington doggie daycare business. The county has deemed the mural an illegal sign, while Houghton argues that it’s a work of art. [Washington Times]
Circuit Court Judge to Retire — Arlington Circuit Court Judge Joanne F. Alper, the first woman appointed to the Arlington Circuit Court, has announced her retirement. Alper plans to retire on May 31, 2012, after serving on the circuit court since 1998. “Judge Alper developed a reputation as a tough, fair, hard-working Trial Judge,” the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office said in a press release. “She enjoys complex litigation, challenging legal issues, and is known as a champion for Victim’s Rights.”
Adios, Artisphere Salsa Tuesdays? — Tonight may mark the end of Salsa Tuesdays at Artisphere, one of the few regularly-scheduled features of the financially-challenged arts facility in Rosslyn. Artisphere’s new business plan calls for the facility to be closed to the public on Tuesdays. Salsa dancing at Artisphere may return, however, on different days. [Washington City Paper]
Last fall, McKinney was accused of hitting a man with his car along S. Eads Street in Pentagon City, following an argument. Police say the man, whom McKinney had picked up in a slug line, demanded to be let out of the car after McKinney started speeding and driving erratically on the highway. McKinney pulled off at Pentagon City and let the man out, but then struck him with his car, police said.
WTOP reports that an Arlington County Circuit Court judge sentenced McKinney to a year in prison on each charge, but suspended most of the sentence and credited McKinney for time served.
