Two people were arrested along Columbia Pike today after a man was shot to death Saturday morning a few blocks away.
Arlington County police say a 46-year-old woman has been charged with murder and a 48-year-old man was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the death of 45-year-old D.C. resident Reginald Scott, who was found dead in a parked car.
Arlington County is developing an alert system aimed at improving its emergency response to behavioral health crises.
The aim of the system, dubbed the Marcus Alert, is to keep people in crisis — due to a mental illness, substance use disorder or intellectual and developmental disabilities — from being arrested and booked in jail.
(Updated at 10:05 a.m.) Police have closed the intersection of S. Eads Street and 18th Street S. in Crystal City after a water main break.
The break has reportedly caused some indentations in the roadway that firefighters fear could becoming full-blown sinkholes if driven over. As a result, roads approaching the normally busy intersection, one block from the Crystal City Metro station, are closed and traffic is being diverted.
An optometrist office one block from the Clarendon Metro station was the latest apparent victim of a band of eyeglass bandits.
The robbery happened last night shortly after 6 p.m. at Visual Health (3012 Wilson Blvd). Police say a group of three suspects entered the store, grabbed handfuls of glasses, and ran to a getaway vehicle that then sped off.
Rapist Gets Life in Prison — “Michael F. Thomson, 65, of Montross, VA pled guilty and was sentenced on Friday, February 11, 2022, in the Arlington County Circuit Court to life in prison plus 56 years for his role in a 1991 cold case rape series. Judge DiMatteo imposed a sentence of life in prison on one count of rape, 50 years on a second count of rape, 10 years with eight suspended on one count of attempted abduction with intent to defile, and two years each on two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of the rapes.” [ACPD]
Police Auditor Bill May Pass — “Bills acceding to a request by the Arlington County Board to employ a police auditor have won approval in each house of the General Assembly, suggesting the measure likely will make it the desk of Gov. Youngkin… Adding a police auditor responsible to the board, rather than county manager, was one of the recommendations when County Board members in 2021 approved revisions to policing policies in the county.” [Sun Gazette]
One man landed in jail and another person went to the hospital after a fight in and outside of a popular Clarendon nightlife venue.
The incident happened around 1 a.m. Sunday on the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd, the heart of Clarendon’s bar district.
Preservation Legislation Shuffled — “After a subcommittee approved a measure being sought to give preservation advocates an additional voice in decisions made at the local level, but simultaneously stripped out some key provisions of the bill, its sponsor made a request. Would the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, where the measure was being considered, agree to move the bill to the Committee on Courts of Justice, Del. Patrick Hope asked.” [Sun Gazette]
Don’t Drive Drunk on Super Bowl Sunday — “To keep spectators safe on the roads, the Arlington County Police Department is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to remind football fans everywhere that Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk… in 2019, there were 10,142 people killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes throughout the United States.” [ACPD]
Update at 4:15 p.m. on 2/11/22 — Arlington police have released more information about the threat. Police say an anonymous caller claimed to be armed with hostages inside one of the Yorktown High School bathroom, in what was later determined to be a false report. From ACPD:
The Arlington County Police Department continues to investigate a telephone threat to Yorktown High School. At approximately 1:26 p.m. on February 10, police were dispatched to the 5200 block of Yorktown Boulevard for the report of a threat. The reporting party advised dispatch that the Main Office had received an anonymous call from the suspect who was alleging to be a student and making threats to ‘shoot up’ the school. The school was placed on lockdown as police responded to investigate the credibility of the threat.
New Organ Debuts Tomorrow — “The new organ [at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Virginia Square] cost $1.2 million… Opus 28 arrived in Arlington on Oct. 3, 2021. For three weeks, Pasi put together the 500,000 parts that constitute it. He spent the next two months ‘voicing’ the organ: doing the painstaking adjustments necessary to make everything sound just right.” [Washington Post]
Reminder: Pizza Boxes Can Be Composted — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “There’s No ‘I’ in Food Scraps: Arlington viewers of ‘The Big Game’ can give 110% and go all in in the green curbside cart: pizza crusts and boxes, wing bones and greasy napkins. You won’t be denied.” [Twitter]
Arlington police nabbed suspects in pair of robberies in Crystal City over the weekend.
The first happened just before midnight at an unnamed business on the same block of 23rd Street S. in Crystal City as the 7-Eleven store.
Local authorities thwarted potentially fraudulent attempts to obtain Covid grant funds intended for struggling Arlington small businesses.
Seventy-four applications for Arlington Economic Development’s GRANT 2.0 program were identified as suspicious, officials say. While AED was reviewing the 529 applications it received, it noticed unusual data in some, such as incorrect contact information or submissions for businesses that had been previously closed.
APS Test-to-Stay Date Set — “Arlington County Public Schools, in Virginia, is planning to launch its test-to-stay program Feb. 14, a school spokesman said. The coronavirus testing will initially be offered to students only, for free, at Syphax Education Center from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on school days.” [WTOP]
Police Probe Particularly Problematic Pothole — “Scanner: Police responding to intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Sycamore Street in East Falls Church for multiple reports of a large pothole damaging passing cars.” [Twitter]
