All in all it was a relatively quiet week for the Arlington Police Department. As if to illustrate the point, here’s one particularly small town-ish item that made it onto the weekly crime report.
BURGLARY 07/13/10, 1800 block of N. Culpeper Street. Between midnight on July 1, and 8 am on July 13, an unknown person entered a closed porch and moved items. There are no known suspects.
It’s not easy being a police officer in Arlington. The truly interesting or exciting calls are few and far between. More often than not, you’re stuck responding to petty neighborhood disputes and false burglar alarms. And, once in a while, some a-hole suspected of firing off illegal fireworks from his apartment slams a door on your hand on the Fourth of July.
The Arlington County Crime Report lists five cases of assault on police that occurred during the past two weeks. We’re told the officer who had the door slammed on his hand did not suffer any permanent injuries.
A quick public service announcement: If you’re going to file a false police report, you might want to first make sure you left the pot at home.
FALSE POLICE REPORT-ARREST 06/16/10, 1800 block of Wilson Boulevard. On June 16 at 10:45 am, a woman called police to report that she was robbed of currency. Investigation revealed that the woman actually gave the money to an acquaintance. Regena Sayles, 42, of Suitland, MD, was charged with Filing a False Police Report and Possession of Marijuana. She was held on a $3,000 bond.
In this week’s Arlington County Crime Report, we find two cases of young women assaulting police officers.
ASSAULT ON POLICE-ARREST 06/02/10, 1000 block of S. Hayes Street. On June 2 at 8:30 pm, a woman was caught shoplifting at a mall. She then spit on a security guard and assaulted a police officer. Shanta Watson, 18, of Washington D.C., was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement, Assault and Battery, Identity Theft and Petit Larceny. She was held on a $7,500 bond.
It’s generally considered good manners to hold the door open for strangers. We’re pretty sure, however, that Miss Manners would not approve of pummeling someone who fails to partake in such common courtesy.
ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST 05/26/10, 1200 block of S. Eads Street. On May 26 at 9:30 pm, one woman assaulted another after the victim did not hold the door open. Atiba Ayala, 19, of Washington D.C., was charged with Assault and Battery. She was held on a $1,500 bond.
It may not be a sustained trend, but there were at least three instances of people having their cell phones forcibly taken from them this week. That follows an incident last week in which a woman who was talking on a cell phone was pushed to the ground and robbed of her phone.
ROBBERY 05/25/10, 1800 block of N. Moore Street. On May 25 at 9:45 pm, an unknown woman and man approached a man waiting at a bus stop. The male suspect asked the victim if he had a cell phone. When the victim pulled it out, the suspects stole it and fled on foot. Both suspect were African American and in their early 20’s. The male suspect was 5’6″ and wearing a black jacket, black jeans and a black head covering. The female was 5’5″ with a heavy build, and was wearing blue jean, a blue jacket and carried a purse.
From this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:
DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY/EXPOSURE-ARREST 05/13/10, 3800 block of Wilson Boulevard. On May 13 at 6 pm, a man attempted to flag over a transit bus. When the bus did not stop, the suspect punched a window on the bus, breaking it. The suspect then exposed himself to the driver. Brian Lavoie, Jr, 28, of Arlington, was charged with Destruction of Property, Indecent Exposure and Drunk in Public. He was held on a $3,500 bond.
Police were first alerted to the shooting when the man was dropped off at the Virginia Hospital Center ER with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. After a short investigation, police were able to find and arrest the suspect — which wasn’t too hard because he was still hanging out near where the shooting occurred.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING-ARREST 05/10/10, 2400 block of S. Shirlington Road. On May 9 at 11:50 pm, two men argued and one man shot the other in the leg. Police located the suspect. Michael Nash, 57, of no fixed address was charged with Malicious Wounding, Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted felon. He was held without bond.
This week’s Arlington crime report is especially long, but that’s just because it details incidents from the past two weeks (as opposed to the normal one).
The report includes the bank robbery and the armored truck robbery that we reported on the Friday before last.
ASSAULT ON POLICE-ARREST 04/18/10, 2000 block of N. 15th Street. On April 18 at 4:30 am, an officer was assaulted by an intoxicated female. Ellen ******, 26, of Silver Spring, MD, was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement and Drunk in Public. She was held on a $5,000 bond.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING 04/18/10, 2600 block of Columbia Pike. On April 18 at 9:30 pm, an intoxicated subject bit a security guard as he was being escorted from a bar. The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle. The suspect is described as a white Hispanic male in his late 20’s, 5’9″ and 200 lbs. He was wearing all black clothing.
The past week saw three people — the oldest of whom was 25 — arrested for alleged crimes that are straight out of the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” Despite the fact that the other two suspects are mere kids, which is its own special brand of audacity, the chutzpah award goes to the guy who police say got drunk, stole a Dominion Power utility truck, crashed it and tried to flee the scene.
GRAND LARCENY AUTO/HIT AND RUN-ARREST 04/07/10, 5200 block of N. 12th Street. On April 7 at 8 pm, a teenage suspect stole a vehicle and was then involved in a minor traffic accident. Officers apprehended the suspect and he was detained.
There were four homicides in 2009, compared to two in 2008. There has been one homicide (for which an arrest has been made) so far this year.
There were 15 rapes in 2009, compared to 23 the year prior, a 35 percent decrease
