A one-woman show ran one of the county programs that diverts people from jail.
Her departure this summer has left a hole in the county’s series of initiatives that keep defendants out of jail, reduce their time in the detention facility or improve their chances of not reoffending once they leave.
(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) All around Columbia Pike — and increasingly elsewhere in Arlington County — one graffiti message has been popping up: “hate.”
At first, it seemed to be concentrated around a stalled development project on the Pike, but now, the graffiti has been seen farther north in Cherrydale. It appears not to be confined to Arlington, either, as it was spotted earlier this year in Georgetown.
(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) A new youth program could divert youth who commit misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies from the juvenile legal system.
Arlington police will be able to refer offending juveniles to local programs aimed at holding youth accountable outside of the court system, according to a press release from the Center for Youth and Family Advocacy (CYFA).
An Arlington County Police Department report released today puts on paper what we reported in March: crime was generally up in Arlington last year.
“The overall crime rate in Arlington County, reported as Group A Offenses (defined on page 18 of the Annual Report), increased 17.8% in 2022 as compared to the previous year,” the police department noted in a press release. “The total number of offenses (offenses per 100,000 persons) remains below the 2022 Virginia average.”
Amid community pressure, Arlington County is taking a closer look at ways to improve safety in Green Valley.
Some residents are pushing for more action from the county on two fronts: dealing with nuisances and more actively policing criminal activity. In response to the mounting concerns, an internal county workgroup is beginning to meet this week to find ways to do just that.
A 23-year-old Minnesota woman is facing a pair of charges after police say she drunkenly threw a bottle at a passing car.
The incident happened around 5:45 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) in Pentagon City, at the intersection of 12th Street S. and S. Hayes Street, near the Metro station entrances.
A 41-year-old man is in jail after police say he used a brick in an early morning robbery attempt.
The incident happened around 2 a.m. in Crystal City. Police say the man stood in front of a car, demanded cash from those inside, then bashed the car with the brick “multiple times” before the victims were able to flee.
An employee of the Arlington County Public Defender’s Office appears to have been duped into smuggling drugs into the local jail.
An apparent misunderstanding over recent changes to the delivery of personal mail could have contributed to the advocate’s arrest, according to her boss, Chief Public Defender Brad Haywood.
The District of Columbia’s attorney general has responded to a scathing letter to D.C. officials sent by Virginia AG Jason Miyares (R).
Miyares suggested that the District is soft on crime, endangering Virginia residents who visit as well as neighboring jurisdictions like Arlington. The letter was sent as “a direct response to the tragic murder of Christy Bautista,” an Arlington woman stabbed to death in a D.C. hotel room, allegedly by a man with an extensive criminal history.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) has sent a scathing letter to D.C.’s mayor and city council today, accusing them of jeopardizing public safety due to lax law enforcement.
The letter follows the stabbing death of an Arlington woman in a D.C. hotel room this past weekend. The Yorktown High School alum was pronounced dead in the room and the suspect, a 43-year-old man with an extensive criminal history, was taken into custody and charged with murder.
A 27-year-old Maryland man has been arrested and charged with yesterday’s robbery of the Bank of America on Columbia Pike.
Police say Jaquan Royal passed the teller a note and implied that he had a weapon, then fled with cash. No one was physically hurt.
(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) The woman murdered in a D.C. hotel room this past weekend was an Arlington native who attended Yorktown High School.
Christy Bautista was a student at Yorktown High School from 2007 to 2010, per high school yearbook photos, and was in orchestra her freshman year. She previously attended Swanson Middle School, confirmed by other former students and address records.
