News

The Arlington County Board and the Human Rights Commission are at odds over whether commissioners had the right to request an investigation into possible human and civil rights violations at the county jail.

Earlier this month, the commission sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, voicing concerns over reports that inmates at the jail lack adequate healthcare, a situation they argue could put them “at risk of death and severe harm.” This follows up on letters to the County Sheriff’s Office and the DOJ from the Arlington branch of the NAACP and its national organization, asking for an investigation after hearing from former and current inmates.


News

A grim anniversary quietly passed last month: four years since the still-unsolved murder of Scott Ratigan.

The 24-year-old was found dead with “trauma to the upper body” in his Ballston apartment in January 2020. The 911 caller reported a strong smell of bleach in the apartment, according to scanner traffic at the time.


News

Arlington police have charged a former Washington-Liberty High School basketball coach with sexual offenses and are seeking possible additional victims.

George Porcha, 53, of Winterville, North Carolina, is charged with carnal knowledge of a minor and taking indecent liberties with children, per an Arlington County Police Department press release sent out this evening (Tuesday).


News

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The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office is facing mounting pressure from personnel, inmates and the NAACP to address worsening conditions at the county jail.


Schools

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) A “mob” of seven boys is facing serious charges after allegedly attacking another teen at Washington-Liberty High School.

The fight happened around 3:15 p.m. — five minutes after school dismissal — on Tuesday but police were not called until an hour later. A tipster tells ARLnow that it took place inside the school.


News

Last month, a peculiar cybersecurity incident derailed class at Washington-Liberty and prompted a police investigation that is ongoing.

Around 10:10 a.m. on Nov. 30, police were dispatched to the school for “the late report of suspicious circumstances,” says ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.


News

Three people were seriously hurt in a fight that resulted in multiple stabbings Friday night.

The stabbings happened around 6 p.m. in a residential building on the 5100 block of Columbia Pike, in the Arlington Mill neighborhood, according to Arlington County police. Five people, who all knew each other, were fighting in a stairwell when three were stabbed, ACPD said.


News

A woman was shot this afternoon in the Green Valley neighborhood.

The shooting happened around 1 p.m., reportedly near the intersection of S. Kemper Road and S. Oxford Street. Photos taken afterward show a crime scene along nearby S. Four Mile Run Drive.


News

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) The man whose house exploded during a standoff with police is dead.

James Yoo, 56, is presumed dead as a result of the explosion of the duplex at 844 N. Burlington Street, in the Bluemont neighborhood, Arlington County police confirmed during a news conference this afternoon.


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