An Arlington man shot by police after he allegedly tried to ram officers with his van appears to have struck a deal with county prosecutors to avoid a trial.
Court records show that Steven Best now has a Nov. 5 plea hearing set for Arlington County Circuit Court. He’s facing a single charge of the attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer, after a grand jury agreed there was enough evidence to indict him on Sept. 24.
A man who was running around naked near Claremont Immersion School was taken into police custody this morning.
Police responded to S. Buchanan Street around 11:15 a.m. for a report of a man who was possibly suffering a mental health emergency in the neighborhood around the elementary school. Officers reportedly observed the man running down the middle of the street without clothes on and jumping atop at least one vehicle.
A death investigation is being conducted in Alexandria just across the Arlington border.
Police say skeletal human remains were found yesterday in a wooded area behind a shopping center on the 4700 block of King Street, near the Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria campus and several blocks from Wakefield High School.
Man Punched Outside Ballston Subway — A man was punched in the face outside the Subway on Fairfax Drive in Ballston yesterday. The assault occurred just before lunchtime and those flocking to the restaurant for footlongs had to step over splatters of blood on the sidewalk. No word yet on what prompted the fight nor whether the suspect, who reportedly fled into the Metro station, was later apprehended. [Twitter]
Tonight: Committee of 100 County Board Debate — The Arlington Committee of 100 will be holding a County Board debate tonight at Marymount University. The program, moderated by ARLnow’s Scott Brodbeck, will start at 8 p.m. after a meet and greet and dinner. [Committee of 100]
Arlington County Police say that 32-year-old Michael Terrance McClanahan of Clinton, Maryland first attracted the attention of officers when he made an illegal U-turn while driving near the intersection of Crystal Drive and 20th Street S. around 2 a.m. Monday (Oct. 8).
Police pulled McClanahan over and discovered he was driving on a suspended license. When officers told him to leave his car, McClanahan “refused to exit the vehicle, attempted to lock himself inside and did not comply with the lawful commands of the officers,” police said.
(Updated at 8:50 p.m.) A man wanted for a series of credit card and vehicle thefts has finally been taken into custody after a high-speed chase that zoomed through Arlington.
Alton Thodos, who escaped from a Fairfax County motel two weeks ago while surrounded by police, drove a reportedly stolen SUV northbound on the HOV lanes of I-395 this morning, pursued by Fairfax County police. Arlington County officers and the Fairfax County police helicopter assisted pursuing officers as the chase continued northbound toward the 14th Street Bridge.
Local Investment Firm CEO Arrested — Todd Hitt, the founder of Falls Church-based Kiddar Capital, was arrested by the FBI and charged with securities fraud last week. Hitt was developing a new company headquarters in Falls Church. He made headlines as a young housing developer in the 1990s for clashing with Arlington neighbors while building what residents dubbed “McMansions.” [Tysons Reporter]
More White Nationalist Posters Spotted — A reader says he saw more white nationalists posters around Clarendon over the weekend. The reader, who wished to remain anonymous, says he removed the posters after photographing them. [Twitter]
According to a police report, a man walked into a business on the 2000 block of Clarendon Blvd around 1 a.m. and flashed a gun at a store clerk. He then ran off “with an undisclosed amount of cash and merchandise.”
The only business on that block open at 1 a.m. is a 7-Eleven store.
The robbery happened outside of a business near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Drive. Police say a man walked up behind an armed security guard and stole his gun while pushing him to the ground. He then assaulted a second victim before running off “with an undisclosed amount of cash.”
During the incident one of the victims “recovered the firearm stolen from the first victim,” according to police.
A theft near the Ballston Metro station this afternoon led to Metro trains briefly being halted on the Orange and Silver lines.
The suspect reportedly fled into the station and possibly ran down the Metro tunnel from Ballston to Virginia Square. Metro Transit Police is checking the area but it is unclear whether the suspect has been located.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) A woman has been found deceased at the base of the antenna tower at 5301 22nd Street N., according to initial reports.
Arlington County police and firefighters are on the scene. A 911 caller reportedly saw the woman fall from the tower.
Ammar Atef Alahdali, a 22-year-old Saudi Arabian national living in Arlington, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography in federal court yesterday (Tuesday), according to a release from the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors say Alahdali used cryptocurrency to register on a dark web site, which could only be accessed via special software masking his IP address, back in April 2017.
