An Arlington man shot by police claims officers aren’t telling the whole story about the incident that led up to the shooting — and he expects video evidence will help him prove his case in court.
County police shot Steven Best several times on May 3 on a street just off Columbia Pike, claiming he tried to flee a traffic stop and nearly hit officers with his van in the process.
Police say the incident happened around 11 p.m. last Wednesday (Aug. 29), when the resident of a home along the 3400 block of N. Dickerson Street was startled awake by noise inside the house.
The man turned on several lights and found items tampered with, when he then saw a man dash out of the house.
County police believe the man struck up a conversation with a woman working in a shop along the 1800 block of N. Oak Street last Wednesday (Aug. 29), then “began touching himself inappropriately and exposed himself.” The area is home to businesses including a cafe, a Subway and a hair salon.
Police say the man fled the store before officers could make it to the scene.
HQ2 Odds Ever in Our Favor — Business Insider says it has “long seen the evidence pointing to the DC area” as the eventual destination for Amazon’s second headquarters. Online betting odds, meanwhile, favor Northern Virginia, and ARLnow.com hears that Crystal City is the far and away the most likely Northern Virginia locale for HQ2. [Business Insider]
High School Football Season Underway — “For the second straight season, but this year at a different venue, the Wakefield Warriors opened their high-school football campaign with a victory over the Washington-Lee Generals.” Yorktown, meanwhile, gave up a lead and lost to Wilson 37-29. [InsideNova]
A body has been found in rain-swollen Four Mile Run near where it runs into the Potomac River.
First responders from Arlington, Alexandria and D.C. all responded to a report of a person in the water along the 3600 block of Potomac Avenue. The incident is currently being described as a recovery operation and investigation.
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) A driver overturned his pick-up truck following an accident in Lyon Village this morning (Thursday).
County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage says the man was driving north on N. Highland Street, near its intersection with 19th Street N., around 10:30 a.m. when he struck a parked car in the area.
Police say they received reports about an altercation on the 1200 block of N. Hudson Street, just behind businesses like the CVS and Goody’s Pizza, around 4:20 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 25)
They say a verbal dispute turned physical, “resulting in the victim being struck multiple times, causing lacerations.” Police are seeking a suspect in the case on a charge of aggravated malicious wounding, but haven’t released the person’s name or description.
County police claim that 37-year-old Durrell Carter of Arlington walked into the business around 1 p.m. last Wednesday (Aug. 22), when he began “exposing himself and masturbating.” The block where the incident occurred is home to a McDonald’s, a Dunkin Donuts and a car dealer, among other shops.
Carter is now charged with indecent exposure, possession of marijuana, identity theft and possession of a fake ID.
Virginia State Police and county police tried to pull over a 2017 Honda Civic taking the exit ramp from westbound I-66 toward N. Sycamore Street when the driver refused to stop, according to state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
The car “sped away at a high rate of speed,” Geller said, and then struck another car near the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Williamsburg Blvd. The driver of the Honda, subsequently identified as 21-year-old Brandon Andrew Lee of Ft. Washington, Maryland, fled the scene of the crash on foot.
Full Arlington Memorial Bridge Shutdown Planned — One of the main links from the county into D.C. will close entirely for the weekend of Sept. 15-17, as workers get ready to start major repair efforts. Officials are warning of rolling lane closures after that, with another full shutdown sometime this fall. [Washington Post]
County Police See a String of Wheel Thefts — Since June 1, Arlington police say they’ve seen thieves make off with the tires and rims of five different cars. Many of the thefts have been concentrated in the Pentagon City and Crystal City area, where airbags have also started vanishing. [WTOP]
Arlington police say they’ve responded to a total of 39 opioid overdoses so far this year, six of which proved fatal, a slight slowdown from the numbers the county recorded a year ago.
Through Aug. 10, police reported encountering the drugs — including both illegal substances like heroin and prescription drugs — a total of 103 times, including possession and distribution cases as well as overdoses.
Road Closed Due to Downed Tree — Williamsburg Blvd is closed at N. Westmoreland Street due to a tree that fell overnight and took down several utility lines with it. Arlington’s emergency management office says the closure “may last through evening rush hour.” [Twitter]
Reminder: DUI Checkpoint Tonight — The Arlington County Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint in an undisclosed location tonight. “Officers will stop all vehicles passing through the checkpoint and ask to see the licenses of drivers. Any driver suspected of operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be directed to a safe area off the roadway for further observation.” [Arlington County]
