Police were investigating a possible attempted sexual assault just before midnight when a man took off running. After police lost track of him, the helicopter and a K-9 unit were called in to help search a neighborhood just west of Ballston Common Mall.
Around 12:50 a.m., police located the suspect, who took off running again. Officers were able to catch up with him and take him into custody outside the church at N. Carlin Springs Road and N. Thomas Street.
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a woman is accused of speeding around a police cruiser, with her hazard lights on, for no apparent reason. The officer tried to stop the vehicle but did not pursue it when the woman refused to pull over, per department policy, according to police. While doing a search of the area, however, police say the woman’s SUV was found parked in the middle of a busy street with music blaring. The woman was not in the car — she was allegedly found in a nearby office building.
(This item removed on 10/3/11, by request, due to outcome of trial.)
This week’s Arlington County crime report contains several items of note. On Thursday, a bullet was fired into a Pentagon City apartment. Nobody was injured and nobody knows who fired the bullet.
MISSILE INTO AN OCCUPIED DWELLING 04/18/11, 1300 block of S. Arlington Ridge Road. On April 14 at midnight, an unknown subject fired a bullet into an occupied apartment. No one was injured. There are no known suspects.
According to department statistics, the crime rate — the number of reported crimes per resident — declined by 7.6 percent from 2009 to 2010. The raw number of reported crimes, meanwhile, fell 5.9 percent.
Robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and vehicle thefts all declined last year. At 29 percent, vehicle thefts saw the greatest year-over-year decline.
A hotel employee who lost an eye during a huge brawl at the DMV Music Awards in Crystal City last month is speaking out about his ordeal.
Route 50 Interchange Project Nears — In March, we were told that the lane closure on westbound Route 50 would finally be lifted by around this time. That’s still yet to be seen, but some new closures are just around the corner. Dr. Gridlock reports that VDOT plans to start construction on a new Route 50/Courthouse Road/Fairfax Drive interchange next month, with nightly traffic disruptions. The $39 million project is expected to wrap up in Fall 2013. [Dr. Gridlock]
Arlington’s Fuel Bill Going Up — Arlington County could spend hundreds of thousands of additional dollars on gasoline this year, thanks to rising gas prices. The county’s vehicle fleet — which includes fuel-sipping Toyota Priuses — consumes about a million gallons of gas every year. [Washington Examiner]
Police say 18-year-old Joseph DiFilippo struck a woman and her dog with his pickup truck while they were walking northbound on N. Quincy Street. The woman, 29 28, remains in critical condition. The dog, a golden retriever, died at the scene.
DiFilippo has charged with reckless driving, failure to maintain proper control of a vehicle, driving without a license and violation of a learner’s permit. Police say the charges may be amended if the victim’s condition worsens. DiFilippo remained on the scene after the accident and cooperated with investigators, police say.
A dump truck reportedly hit a traffic light at the intersection of Army Navy Drive and South Hayes Street this afternoon.
The collision knocked the light from its pole, causing it to dangle precariously over the intersection by an electrical line. As of 1:30 p.m. a county light crew was working to repair the light as police directed traffic at the intersection. A backup quickly formed at the busy intersection, which also serves as a connector to I-395.
There were some tense moments in Crystal City this morning as Arlington County and Pentagon Police surrounded an office building after receiving a false report of a man with a gun.
Police were originally dispatched to the scene for a report of an intoxicated military service member who was said to be brandishing a handgun in an office on the 2200 block of South Clark Street. One floor of the building was evacuated, employees sheltered in place on other floors and elevators were locked down.
Update at 9:15 p.m. on 4/27/11 — The victim has succumbed to her injuries.
Update at 2:15 p.m. on 4/12/11 — The driver has been charged with reckless driving.
The Hartford Courant reports that the buses, which took 250 eighth-graders from Connecticut to D.C. for a school trip, were operating without insurance or registration. One of the buses had a pair of bald tires, according to the paper.
The buses were impounded in the cemetery’s parking lot by U.S. Park Police and Arlington County police. School officials were eventually able to find other buses to pick the stranded students up from the cemetery.
The joint ACFD/ACPD team beat Montgomery County Fire (score: 5-1), D.C. Fire (score: 7-0) and Baltimore City Fire (twice) to win their division at the annual D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation hockey tournament in Laurel, Md. They won 5-4 in overtime in the championship game against Baltimore City on Sunday.
Team organizer Sean Spencer says the 30-man roster contains people who have been playing ice hockey since they were kids and people who just took up the sport in the past couple of years. They had great chemistry on the ice, he said, despite only playing together as a team one time prior to the tournament.
