An irate fast food restaurant customer is facing charges after police say he hopped the counter, stole food and threatened an employee.
The incident happened Monday afternoon on the 4600 block of King Street in Arlington. That block includes a Taco Bell, a Popeyes and a Wendy’s.
“At approximately 3:16 p.m. on March 6, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” said an Arlington County Police Department crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined that following a verbal dispute with an employee regarding a food order, the suspect went behind the counter and allegedly began taking food items.”
“When an employee approached the suspect, he displayed pepper spray and exited the business with the items,” the crime report continued. “Responding officers located the suspect in the area and took him into custody without incident. No injuries were reported.”
A 29-year-old Alexandria resident was arrested, charged with robbery, and held without bond, according to ACPD.
Also in the crime report, a man is accused of assaulting three police officers after breaking things in a Crystal City office building.
That incident happened Monday morning on the 200 block of 12th Street S.
“At approximately 6:17 a.m. on March 6, police were dispatched to the report of disorderly conduct,” the crime report said. “Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect was inside an office building allegedly acting disorderly and had damaged the building’s call box.”
“Responding officers located the suspect in the lobby and took him into custody, during which the suspect resisted arrest and assaulted three officers by biting, kicking and spitting on them,” said ACPD. “The suspect was transported to an area hospital for evaluation.”
The 56-year-old man, whose address is “unknown,” was arrested and charged with destruction of property and three counts of assaulting police.
Police are investigating the sexual assault of a teen girl Sunday night along Columbia Pike.
The attack happened around 9:15 p.m., near the intersection of the Pike and S. Four Mile Run Drive. The suspect grabbed the girl from behind, pulled her into the woods and sexually assaulted her while armed with a “bladed object.”
Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who was only described by his clothing.
More from an Arlington County police press release, below.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating a sexual assault on S. Four Mile Run Drive and is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect.
At approximately 12:11 a.m. on March 6, police were dispatched to the report of a sexual assault at Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Drive. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 9:15 p.m. on March 5, the female victim, a juvenile in her teens, was walking in the 4900 block of Columbia Pike when the suspect began to follow her. As she turned onto S. Four Mile Run Drive, the suspect grabbed her from behind and touched her inappropriately before pulling her into a wooded area. The suspect then produced a bladed object and sexually assaulted the victim before fleeing the scene on foot. The victim was then able to walk home and seek assistance.
The suspect is described as an unknown race male wearing a black jacket and black or gray sweatpants.
This remains an active investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective R. Munizza at 703-228-4171 or [email protected] or the Arlington County Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected] Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
A robbery attempt in the Penrose neighborhood did not go as planned, after the would-be victim reportedly grabbed and broke a suspect’s replica handgun.
That’s according to scanner traffic and an Arlington County Police Department crime report today.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon on the 2800 block of 8th Street S., two blocks north of the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive.
“At approximately 2:35 p.m. on March 5, police were dispatched to the report of an attempted robbery,” said the crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim and two unknown suspects arrived at this location for the prearranged sale of a computer. The suspects showed the victim the computer before brandishing what was later determined to be an air soft gun and demanding the victim’s money.”
“The victim handed the suspects cash and took control of the air soft gun,” the crime report continued. “The suspects then fled the scene on foot, dropping the money in the process. No injuries were reported.”
Scanner traffic at the time suggested that the black handgun, which looked like a Glock, broke when the victim snatched it away from the young suspect.
The suspects — described as in their teens or early 20s — showed up to the sale wearing hoodies and masks, according to ACPD. The computer in question was described as a Mac in a police dispatch.
“The investigation is ongoing,” police said.
Hat tip to Alan Henney
A man is in jail after a pair of alleged sexual battery incidents in the Courthouse area Sunday evening.
Both happened along Wilson Blvd and involved the 22-year-old suspect approaching women and hitting them on the buttocks, police said.
From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
SEXUAL BATTERY, 2023-03050171, Wilson Boulevard at N. Courthouse Road. At approximately 6:47 p.m. on March 5, police were dispatched to the police station for the report of a suspicious person. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was walking her dog in the area when the male suspect approached her and allegedly hit her on the buttocks before fleeing the scene on foot. During the course of the investigation, it was determined a second female victim was approached by the suspect in the area of Wilson Boulevard and N. Troy Street, during which he hit her on the buttocks before fleeing the scene. A lookout was broadcast and responding officers located the suspect in the area and took him into custody without incident. [The suspect], 22, of No Fixed Address, was arrested and charged with Sexual Battery (x2). He was held without bail.
The suspect is expected in court tomorrow (Tuesday) for a bail hearing, per court records.
A man has been arrested after allegedly robbing a gun store in Clarendon.
Police say the 22-year-old man, of an unknown address, stole a gun and ammunition from the store on the 2600 block of Wilson Blvd, which corresponds with the address of Nova Armory.
From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ROBBERY, 2023-03020128, 2600 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 1:34 p.m. on March 2, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect entered the business wearing a ski mask and was asked by store employees to remove it but did not comply with their requests. The suspect then allegedly selected a firearm and ammunition and began to exit the store. Employees tried to stop him, during which the suspect attempted to strike one of the employees before fleeing the scene with the stolen items. The suspect boarded a Metro Transit bus and responding officers stopped the bus, located the suspect on board and took him into custody. During a search of his belongings, officers recovered the stolen firearm and ammunition. [The suspect], 22, of an unknown address was arrested and charged with Robbery and Prohibition of Wearing of Masks in Certain Places. He has held without bond.
The robbery suspect has the same name as a man who charged the suspect in the shooting death of his twin brother in a Pittsburgh courtroom last year.
In December, a man in his early 20s tried unsuccessfully to steal a gun from Nova Armory. The gun was recovered after the store manager chased him down, but the suspect managed to get away.
Arlington County police and medics responded to a near-fatal opioid overdose in the Ballston mall parking garage this afternoon.
The initial dispatch went out shortly before 1:30 p.m. for a possible cardiac arrest with CPR in progress after an overdose, inside the county-owned public parking garage. A group of teens was found near the mall elevators on the 6th floor of the garage.
First responders administered the overdose reversal medication Narcan to two people with suspected overdoses and reported that the person initially said to be in cardiac arrest had a pulse but was unconscious, according to scanner traffic.
The fire department established an incident command at the garage and ended up transporting three people to a local hospital via ambulance.
Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed to ARLnow that those involved were juveniles.
“At approximately 1:24 p.m., police were dispatched to the report of possible overdose in the 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard involving three juveniles,” Savage said. “First responders administered NARCAN on two of the juveniles which resulted in positive responses. The three juveniles were transported to an area hospital. The investigation is ongoing.”
A similar incident was reported at the parking garage last week, on a Tuesdy morning.
A group of highly intoxicated teens required medical attention in a stairwell, not far from the entrance to the Kettler Capitals Iceplex.
“At approximately 9:33 a.m., police were dispatched to the 600 block of N. Glebe Road for the report of a Drunk in Public,” Savage said at the time. “Upon arrival, six juveniles showing signs of intoxication were located inside a stairwell of a commercial building. Out of an abundance of caution, they were transported to an area hospital for evaluation. The investigation is ongoing.”
ARLnow did not previously report on the alcohol incident. Between then and now, a police source confirmed to an ARLnow reporter that the juveniles were students at nearby Washington-Liberty High School and were skipping class.
Savage said it was not immediately clear whether today’s incident involved the same group.
“As part of the ongoing investigation, detectives will work to determine if this incident is related to any other reported incidents,” she said.
Today’s overdoses follow several involving students on and off school grounds since the start of December’s holiday break, part of an ongoing opioid epidemic at Arlington’s public schools.
At least three have occurred on school grounds so far this year, including a fatal overdose at Wakefield High School on Jan. 31. That has led to calls for various changes at APS by teachers, parents and School Board members.
A 69-year-old Connecticut man is in jail after police say he shot himself and falsely claimed he had been shot during a robbery attempt.
The shooting happened two weeks ago in the parking garage of the Hilton Garden Inn in the Courthouse neighborhood, a block from Arlington County police headquarters.
The man was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said at the time.
This morning, police announced that the man who was shot had been arrested and faces a number of charges, including filing a false police report.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing an arrest in a shooting that occurred in the 1300 block of N. Courthouse Road on February 15, 2023. Chester Dunican, 69, of Waterford, CT, is charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Discharge Firearm in Public and False Police Report. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
The suspect initially reported to police that he was placing items into his vehicle when an unknown male wearing a ski mask approached, demanded his wallet and shot him. During the course of the investigation, detectives uncovered numerous inconsistencies between the suspect’s account of the incident and evidence recovered. The investigation ultimately determined the suspect shot himself and tried to make it appear as though an attempted robbery had occurred. He was taken into custody on the afternoon of February 27, 2023, after his release from the hospital for injuries sustained during the incident.
News reports suggest that Dunican’s felony conviction was quite recent.
He pleaded guilty in a Michigan federal court this past October to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge stems from a scheme that defrauded a Native American tribe of more than $1 million, various news outlets reported. The reports also note that it’s not the first time Dunican had been implicated in a business scheme.
“Dunican is known in Maine for several business ventures that became entangled in financial and legal problems,” the Portland Press Herald reported, adding that, according to Dunican’s attorney, he previously served in the military and has “serious and chronic health conditions.”
Dunican was set to be sentenced on Feb. 14, a day before the shooting, but “informed the court he had car problems and was unable to make it to the hearing,” another Maine newspaper reported. He faces up to 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the fraud charge, though federal sentences are typically lower than the maximum under statute.
According to ACPD, Dunican is currently being held without bond at the county jail in Courthouse, following his release from the hospital yesterday (Monday).
Arlington County police are investigating a carjacking that happened Saturday night near the Courthouse neighborhood.
Police were dispatched to the 2000 block of N. Adams Street, just north of Langston Blvd, around 9:40 p.m.
“Upon arrival, it was determined the victims were exiting their parked car when two unknown male suspects approached, brandished a firearm and stole the keys to the vehicle and two cell phones,” ACPD said today (Monday) in a crime report. “The suspects then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle and were followed by a suspect driving a dark colored sedan.”
Both vehicles were later found unoccupied, police said.
“The victims’ vehicle was later located unoccupied in Washington D.C. and the suspects’ vehicle, which was determined to have been stolen, was located unoccupied on the George Washington Parkway,” the crime report said. “The investigation is ongoing.”
This was at least the seventh carjacking in Arlington so far this year. That’s half of the 14 in total reported throughout 2022. A carjacking earlier this month resulted in a chase and arrests.
UPDATE 2: Apparently as a precaution, @ArlingtonVaFD, followed by @ArlingtonVaPD, took one of the armed carjacking victims to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/tnmFyjxcjP
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) February 26, 2023
A 94-year-old man has been arrested and charged with sex crimes against children.
Arlington resident Adolfo Zambrano is facing two counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery, following an incident earlier this month at a home along Columbia Pike and accusations of child sexual abuse dating back to 1999.
Arlington County police are now seeking additional potential victims.
More from an ACPD press release, below.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is seeking possible additional victims of a suspect charged with sex offenses. Adolfo Zambrano, 94, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with two counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
At approximately 6:25 p.m. on February 10, police were dispatched to the late report of an assault. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 4:30 p.m., the witness observed a suspicious incident between the known suspect and a child inside a residence along Columbia Pike. The witness confronted the suspect, he left the home and she subsequently contacted police.
During the course of the investigation, detectives determined the suspect inappropriately touched the child. Additionally, detectives identified an adult female victim who reported having been touched inappropriately by the suspect in 1999 when she was a child. As a result of the investigation, detectives obtained warrants for his arrest and he was taken into custody on the evening of February 16, 2023.
This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with past inappropriate encounters with this suspect or who has additional information related to this investigation is asked to contact Detective H. Molina at 703-228-4208 or [email protected] Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
A young Arlington woman died today after a single-vehicle crash in the Shirlington area.
The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. on the 2500 block of S. Arlington Mill Drive, just west of Shirlington Village.
The driver, 20-year-old Mayra Cruz-Arriaza, was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Cruz-Arriaza was listed on a childcare hiring site as a part-time nanny who “love[s] doing arts and crafts, especially painting” with children and who helped to care for her brother with special needs.
More from a police press release, below.
The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal single vehicle crash that occurred in the early morning hours of February 21, 2023.
At approximately 1:47 a.m., police were dispatched to the 2500 block of S. Arlington Mill Drive for the report of a crash with injuries. Upon arrival, officers located the unresponsive driver inside the vehicle. She was transported to an area hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased. The deceased has been identified as Mayra Cruz-Arriaza, 20, of Arlington, VA.
The preliminary investigation indicates the driver was traveling westbound on Arlington Mill Drive when the vehicle left the roadway, entered the median and struck a pedestrian crosswalk pole and two trees.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective S. Lafley at [email protected] or 703-228-4052. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
A Falls Church man allegedly placed his gun in a flowerbox and asked someone to watch it in the midst of an argument in Ballston.
The incident happened around 9 p.m. Saturday along Wilson Blvd, in front of Ballston Quarter mall.
“The male victim had exited a business when the male suspect approached and began acting disorderly,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “The suspect and victim became involved in a verbal dispute, during which the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim and made threatening statements.”
“The victim then walked away and the suspect removed a firearm from his person, placed it into a flowerbox and asked a witness to watch it before reapproaching the victim,” the crime report continued. “Responding officers took the suspect into custody without incident and during a search of his person incident to arrest, located suspected narcotics.”
During the incident 911 callers reported a man with a gun, prompting a large police response. The argument and the response were both caught on camera and posted on Twitter by local public safety watcher Dave Statter.
(1) NEW: Interesting drama played out on the streets of Ballston Saturday at 9 pm. A fight at Wilson & Randolph with a report of a man with a gun. This is what it looked like just before @ArlingtonVaPD arrived. (more) @ARLnowDOTcom #arlington #Crime pic.twitter.com/vH0i5YxVfn
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) February 20, 2023
(3) A 911 caller said he picked up the gun the man in the dispute stashed. Officers appeared to have found that person & got the gun. Witnesses identified the man initially detained as the person originally having the gun. He was handcuffed. Waiting to learn more from ACPD. pic.twitter.com/Qt8B5GhK0M
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) February 20, 2023
The suspect, a 32-year-old man from Falls Church whose first name is Justice, “was arrested and charged with Reckless Handling of a Firearm, Concealing a Weapon, Assault & Battery, Possession of Schedule I/II Controlled Substance, Possession of Schedule I/II Controlled Substance while Possessing a Firearm, and Drunk in Public,” the crime report said. “He was held without bond.”
Also in today’s crime report, a 59-year-old man has been charged with burglary and destruction of property after a series of business break-ins in the Virginia Square and Ballston area.
The suspect was out on bond but wanted for violating pretrial conditions, court records show. He was previously arrested in 2021 for assault and in February 2022 for allegedly throwing a brick through the window of Olive Lebanese Eatery in Ballston, stealing $50 in cash and causing thousands of dollars in damage, as we previously reported.
Our previous reporting also noted that the suspect was wanted at the time for violating the conditions of an earlier release.
More from the crime report:
BURGLARY, 2023-02200040/02200044/02200051, 3800 block of Fairfax Drive/4300 block of Fairfax Drive/4300 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 4:15 a.m. on February 20, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary alarm in the 3800 block of Fairfax Drive. Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect allegedly forced entry into the business and tampered with two cash registers before fleeing the scene on foot. During the course of the investigation, it was determined the suspect forced entry into businesses in the 4300 block of Fairfax Drive and the 4300 block of Wilson Boulevard, rummaged through items and tampered with safes. Officers located the suspect in the area and took him into custody without incident. Steven Pugh, 59, of No Fixed Address, was arrested and charged with Burglary (x2) and Destruction of Property (x2).
