The 22-year-old suspect, whose first name is Samantha, was arrested on Valentine’s Day morning after calling police to report that she was “in possession of a vehicle that was not hers.”
From our previous article on the alleged crime:
sexual assault
Residents Supportive of Cemetery Expansion Plan — The military held a meeting yesterday to reveal preliminary plans to expand Arlington National Cemetery and realign Columbia Pike. Local residents were generally supportive of the plan and the need to expand the cemetery. [Washington Post]
Arlington Woman Turns 100 — The Sunrise senior living community in Arlington has celebrated the 100th birthday of a resident, Kathleen Hanawalt. Hanawalt celebrated the event with her daughter-in-law and two grandsons. Hanawalt’s husband died in 1969. [InsideNova]
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Melvin Perez-Bonilla was arrested in October and charged in connection to a string of sexual assaults in 2015.
Prosecutors say Perez-Bonilla attacked a 25-year-old woman while she was walking home alone in the Clarendon area early in the morning of July 25, 2015. On the evening Sept. 29, 2015, he attacked a 23-year-old woman who was walking home near Washington-Lee High School.
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The incident started around 8:40 p.m. Thursday as a dispute between two groups of people, inside a restaurant on the 2900 block of Columbia Pike, police said.
One member of a group was upset about being filmed by members of the other group and complained to restaurant management, which reportedly kicked the offending group out.
Based in Arlington — the group doesn’t publicize its office address for security reasons — Doorways “creates pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault.”
Last year, calls to the group’s 24-hour Domestic & Sexual Violence Hotline — at 703-237-0881 — was up 53 percent year-over-year, Doorways said. A total of 1,244 callers reported incidents impacting 2,012 adults and children.
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The alleged incident happened around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, on the 200 block of N. Columbus Street in the Arlington Forest neighborhood.
The victim told detectives that two men approached her from behind as she was walking down the street. One tried to place something over her head while the other tried to muffle her screams and also touched her inappropriately, she said.
It was initially believed that the Aug. 1 case may have been related to another series of sexual assaults last summer. A suspect was arrested in October and charged in some of those crimes. (That suspect, Melvin Perez Bonilla, is still in jail and due in court today to face charges in a July 25 assault on N. Scott Street, police say.)
Investigators now believe that separate suspects were each responsible for a separate series of assaults.
Plain clothes officers arrested Alexandria residents Jose Euseibo Guevara-Rodriquez, 39, and Elmer Umberto Lopez-Velasquez, 38, on Tuesday.
According to police, the men sexually assaulted a woman who was involved in “escort-related activity” at a motel in south Arlington, threatening her with a weapon and stealing her iPad before leaving the room.
Arlington Public Schools is hosting the SafeBAE (Before Anyone Else) National Summit at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) this Saturday, Dec. 12 from 2-4 p.m.
SafeBAE is a virtual organization that is focused on students by raising awareness about sexual assault and educating them about their rights under Title IX to prevent dating violence. Its programs are designed to give students resources and skills to advocate for consent and safe relationship education.
Sandra Bullock Remembers W-L Cheerleader Days — Oscar-winning actress and Arlington native Sandra Bullock says her Washington-Lee High School cheerleading uniform still fits like a glove. “That might come in handy some sexy night. I don’t know who I’m saving it for,” she told Glamour magazine. [Daily Mail]
ICE Detainer for Sexual Assault Suspect — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Melvin Bonilla, the suspect in a string of sexual assaults in Arlington. Bonilla was arrested by Arlington County Police yesterday morning. [Fox 5]
Arlington County Police have announced an arrest in a series of sexual assault cases that have had the community on edge since mid-summer.
Police say a 19-year-old Arlington man has been arrested and charged with two counts of attempted abduction in connection to at least three sexual assault cases. The man was arrested early this morning and has confessed to multiple attempted sexual assaults, according to police.
Office Vacancy Down in Arlington — Arlington has had a 1.6 percent positive net absorption of commercial office space so far this year. Crystal City in particular has done well, gaining 313,000 square feet of occupancy. [Bisnow]
History Plan for Arlington Centennial — Arlington County is seeking public comment on the mid-term report produced by the Arlington History Task Force. The task force is trying to come up with a plan for preserving Arlington’s history, in time for the county’s centennial in 2020. [Arlington County]