The would-be victim of an armed robbery in Ballston managed to get away thanks to some dirt.
The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30. A 6’2″ tall, 250 lbs man with a .45 caliber handgun tried to rob a victim at gunpoint, according to police, but his robbery was foiled when the victim threw dirt in the suspect’s face.
According to police, a man walked into the hotel lobby around 6:30 p.m. and pointed a gun at the desk worker while demanding she get on the ground. The suspect then went behind the desk and took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register.
While the suspect was in the lobby, a customer entered the area and the suspect turned the gun on him, ordering him to the ground. The suspect then fled through a back door. Nobody sustained any physical injuries in the incident.
A woman had her purse forcefully stolen from her while walking home from the Ballston Metro station around 10:00 Tuesday night. From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
ROBBERY, 10/16/12, 1100 block of N. Utah Street. On October 16 at 9:56 pm, a female victim was walking home from the Ballston Metro station when she was attacked by a male subject and had her purse stolen. The victim chased the man briefly on foot until she lost sight of him behind a row of townhouses. The suspect is described as a black or Hispanic male, approximately 5’8″ tall and very heavy set, with a bald head. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, grey sweatpants and white sneakers at the time of the incident.
Around 9:45 p.m., a suspect threw hot coffee on the front desk attendant at the Best Western hotel on the 2400 block of S. Glebe Road. The suspect then hopped the counter, stole $450 in cash and a cell phone, and fled the scene in a white sedan, according to police.
A K9 unit and the helicopter were called in, but police were ultimately unable to locate the suspect.
Police say a man with a gun entered the store at 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19, and demanded money from the cashier. A second suspect then entered the store and a firecracker suddenly exploded in his hand. Frightened by the apparently unplanned or mistimed fireworks, the suspects fled the scene empty-handed.
“The suspect with the firearm was described as a white male, approximately 5’8” tall with a medium build and black hair. He was wearing grey hoodie sweatshirt, a dark bandana around his face and black shorts,” according to the police report. “The second suspect was a black male, approximately 5’7” tall with a average build and was wearing a white v-neck tshirt and dark shorts.”
A man was stabbed last weekend after trying to intervene when two men were harassing a woman in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood.
From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a man allegedly stole items from a store in the Pentagon City mall, then threatened a security officer with a knife when confronted.
ROBBERY, 06/09/12, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. On June 9 at 7:45 pm, a subject stole merchandise from a store at the mall and when approached by the loss prevention officer, he fled the scene on foot. After being followed by the loss prevention officer, he threatened him with a knife. Police apprehended the subject a short time later in the mall parking garage. Lonnell Andre Buford, 40, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with robbery and possession of burglarious tools. He was held without bond.
A beating and robbery attempt in Douglas Park last week was stopped after someone drove up and shined their headlights on the attackers.
The incident happened around 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30. According to police, a man had just gotten off the bus, on his way back home from work in Georgetown, and was walking up S. Monroe Street when he saw two suspects hanging out in front of abandoned house.
A woman had a double whammy of a bad day this past Friday night/early Saturday morning. Not only was her bike stolen from outside the Ballston Metro station, but a man tried to rob her at knifepoint while she was walking home after finding out that her bike was stolen.
ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, 04/14/12, 1400 block of N. Glebe Road. On April 14 at 12:20 am, after returning to Arlington from DC to find her bike stolen from the Ballston Metro stop, a female walking home alone was approached by an unknown subject with a knife. The suspect demanded the victims purse, causing the victim to begin screaming for help. The suspect fled the scene on foot without the purse and is described as a white male, early-mid thirties in age, approximately 5’6″ to 5’8″ tall, with a semi-muscular build and a chipped or missing front tooth. He was wearing a Phillies jersey and jeans at the time of the attempted robbery.
A would-be crime victim said “no deal” to a criminal who tried to steal his briefcase full of cash.
The attempted robbery took place in a Crystal City parking garage. According to this week’s Arlington County crime report, the victim was able to hang on to his briefcase even after the suspect struck him in the back of the head.
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a man allegedly had the tip of his finger bitten off by an acquaintance during a fight outside of a bar. Doctors were unable to reattach the finger tip, according to police.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING BY MOB, 03/18/12, 2600 block of N. Pershing Drive. At 2:15 am on March 18, a victim was assaulted outside of a bar by known subjects. During the fight, the victims right index fingertip was bitten off by one of the subjects. Rudy Sales Perez, 21, of Arlington, and Jose Lopez Sales, 23, of Arlington, were charged with malicious wounding by mob and held without bond.
This week’s Arlington County crime report contained several incidents of frightening crimes against women. Among them:
RAPE, 01/25/12, 3000 block of Columbia Pike. Between 2 and 3 pm on January 25, a female victim was raped by a known suspect in a hotel room. The suspect is in custody.
