police | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published February 29, 2016 at 9:05AM | Updated February 29, 2016 at 10:58AM

ACPD Shrouding Badges for Fallen Officer — The Arlington County Police Department is shrouding its badges to pay respect to Ashley Guindon, the rookie Prince William County police officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Saturday. [Twitter]

Tourism Tax Authorization Passes Legislature — With bipartisan lobbying help from County Board member John Vihstadt (I), a measure reauthorizing Arlington’s hotel tax surcharge has passed the Virginia General Assembly. Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) still must sign the bill into law, and Arlington will have to get it reauthorized in two years due to a sunset clause. The tax will help fund Arlington’s tourism promotion efforts. [InsideNova]

Traffic

TRAFFIC ALERT: State Police Investigating Crash on I-66

By ARLnow.com

Published February 27, 2016 at 1:40PM

Photo via @ArlingtonVaPD

Virginia State Police are investigating a serious single-vehicle crash on I-66 near East Falls Church.

The wreck happened early this afternoon in the westbound lanes near the Sycamore Street exit. Photos show a dark gray sedan with heavy front-end damage on the side of the road, next to a crumpled-up guardrail.

News

ACPD Announces Big Pot Bust

By ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2016 at 4:10PM | Updated February 26, 2016 at 4:30PM

In a press release, below, ACPD said the network sent parcels filled with marijuana from California to businesses and homes in the D.C. area. Thus far those businesses have not been identified, though police say warrants were executed at “various businesses and residences throughout the region.”

Two suspects — Dat T. Ngo and Kien V. Luong — have been arrested. Ngo was taken into custody at a nail salon in a Bethesda shopping center, ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said. Drugs were seized from his vehicle, Bethesda Beat reported, citing a witness account.

News

Man Arrested for Strolling Down Street Naked Thursday Morning

By ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2016 at 11:35AM

File photo

Police say 55-year-old Donald Lee Duncan was spotted walking naked along the 800 block of S. Harrison Street, in the Arlington Mill neighborhood, around 10 a.m.

Duncan, an Arlington resident, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and being drunk in public.

Opinion

The Right Note: Secret Police?

By Mark Kelly

Published February 25, 2016 at 1:15PM

The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill to grant police and sheriff’s departments virtually unlimited latitude to refuse to release the names of its officers via Freedom of Information Act requests.

Senate Bill 552 passed the Senate on a 25-15, bi-partisan vote. It would classify all officers names as personnel records, exempting them from mandatory disclosure. By all accounts, it is the most sweeping measure of its kind in the country.

News

Three Men Arrested for Assaulting Uber Driver With Beer Bottle

By ARLnow.com

Published February 22, 2016 at 12:45PM | Updated February 22, 2016 at 6:08PM

File photo

The incident happened just before 11 p.m. on Washington Blvd near Columbia Pike. It started, police say, after the driver picked up six passengers, then later noticed that they were drinking alcohol from open containers inside the vehicle.

“The driver could smell alcohol,” said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

News

Police: Man Robs 7-Eleven, Arrested Two Days Later Trying to Rob Another

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2016 at 4:55PM

Police say the officer saw a vehicle driving with its lights off just before 1 a.m. this morning (Thursday) in Lyon Park. The officer then saw a man running from the 7-Eleven parking lot at 2704 Washington Blvd, toward the car. The man was stopped and a black ski mask was found in his possession.

Police believe the man, 21-year-old Arlington resident Camron Richards, was about to rob the 7-Eleven when another car pulled into the parking lot, spooking him. He was charged with attempted robbery in connection with the incident.

News

Shot Fired During Home Invasion Robbery in Ashton Heights

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2016 at 3:45PM

File photo

The incident happened around 2:40 a.m. on the 700 block of N. Lincoln Street, not far from the Arlington Arts Center and the Virginia Square Metro station.

Police say eight people were hanging out in a home recording studio when one went outside to smoke a cigarette. As that individual went back inside, two men entered the house and told the crowd that they were being robbed. The victims initially thought it was a joke, and that’s when one of the suspects fired a gunshot into the ceiling, according to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

News

Police: Man Made Up Gang-Related Attack in Quincy Park

By ARLnow.com

Published February 17, 2016 at 3:45PM

The 19-year-old man who reported the crime has admitted that he made it up and has been charged with filing a false police report, said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

Police conducted a “significant investigation” into the crime because the purported victim claimed the suspect who tried to stab him said it was part of a gang initiation.

News

Suspect Enters Closed Bank Through Hole in Wall, Leaves Empty-Handed

By ARLnow.com

Published February 17, 2016 at 3:20PM

Sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning, someone entered the United Bank in Arlington’s Williamsburg neighborhood through a hole in the wall, but nothing was stolen.

Police are investigating the break-in, in the Williamsburg Shopping Center. Investigators say the suspect was able to gain entry to a room behind the bank’s ATM, but not the main lobby of the bank. The hole was in a wall in a walkway between the bank and a barber shop, we’re told.

News

Police: Drunk Woman Steals Car from Rosslyn Hotel, Calls Cops on Herself

By ARLnow.com

Published February 16, 2016 at 2:35PM | Updated October 7, 2016 at 1:29PM

Samantha, 22, told police she was intoxicated when she took an Uber to District Taco in Rosslyn Saturday night, intent on grabbing some food. Afterward, she walked down to the Hyatt hotel, on the 1300 block of Wilson Blvd, milled about a bit and then allegedly stole a car from the valet.

Samantha’s next recollection, according to police, is waking up in the back seat of the car around 1 a.m., in an unknown location in Arlington. She then drove home, went to sleep, and called police around 9 a.m. to come clean about what happened, said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

News

Attempted Stabbing In Quincy Park May Have Gang Link

By ARLnow.com

Published February 12, 2016 at 11:15AM | Updated February 17, 2016 at 3:44PM

Arlington police car outside police headquarters (file photo)

Police are investigating a possible gang-related attempted stabbing in Quincy Park last night.

Police say a male victim in his late teens was cutting through the park — near Arlington Central Library and Washington-Lee High School — just after 8:30 p.m., when he was approached by an unknown male suspect, also in his teens.