theft | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published September 24, 2013 at 8:30AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 3:23PM

Metro Keys Stolen from Arlington Fire Truck — Two men wearing masks and black clothing stole keys to secure areas of the Metro system from an unattended Arlington County fire truck last week. The theft happened during a medical call in Crystal City, and the thieves also stole a forcible entry tool called a Hydra Ram. [NBC Washington]

New Wakefield Aquatics Center Debuts — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new aquatics center at Wakefield High School on Sunday. The center is expected to draw a larger crowd than the aging, existing Wakefield aquatics facility it replaces. The cost of entry is up to $5.50 per day for Arlington residents. [Sun Gazette]

News

Police Arrest Man for Crystal City Bike Thefts

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 26, 2013 at 4:15PM

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Howard Montgomery, 47, of no fixed address, was spotted just before 3:00 a.m. last Thursday riding a bicycle and carrying another alongside him, Arlington County Police said. When an officer questioned Montgomery, he tried to flee but was taken into custody “after a brief struggle,” according to the police report.

Montgomery, who was also in possession of “a power grinder with numerous blades,” admitted to stealing the Cannondale and Drossinger bikes, police said. He was arrested and charged with grand larceny, larceny with intent to sell, possession of burglarious tools and obstruction of justice.

News

Wheel Thieves Targeting Hondas in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2013 at 11:45AM | Updated August 26, 2013 at 1:09PM

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) There have been 41 reported thefts of vehicle tires and rims in Arlington so far this year. Of those, 24 have been stolen from just two models: the Honda Fit and Civic.

In keeping with what seems to be a national trend, the Fit is the most-targeted of the two, accounting for 16 — nearly two fifths — of the 41 thefts, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

News

ACPD: Bike Theft At an All-Time High

By ARLnow.com

Published August 16, 2013 at 11:45AM | Updated August 16, 2013 at 12:47PM

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A total of 67 bikes were stolen in July, but police say they’ve been working “aggressively” to reduce the number of thefts. At least six suspects were recently arrested in connection with bicycle thefts, and one pleaded guilty to nine felony counts.

According to police department statistics, from June 1 to Aug. 5, a total of 126 bikes were stolen for a total property loss of nearly $100,000.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 9, 2013 at 9:00AM | Updated August 9, 2013 at 2:23PM

Fish and Wildlife Service Nears Lease Deal in Falls Church — Vornado Realty Trust is reportedly close to securing a lease deal that would move the Fish and Wildlife Service out of Ballston and into Falls Church. The deal would send the agency’s 2,100 employees to 5275 Leesburg Pike in the Skyline area. [Washington Business Journal]

Man Pleads Guilty in Pentagon City Robbery — Walter Douglas, who was arrested in June, has pleaded guilty to a string of smash and grab robberies, including the March 19 Tourneau store robbery at the Pentagon City mall. Douglas admitted he was an organizer of the group that allegedly carried out the robberies, and he pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge and a robbery-conspiracy charge. He reports the group stole between $800,000 and $1.5 million in high end goods. Douglas will be sentenced on November 8. [Washington Post]

News

Van with Amazon Packages Stolen at Gas Station

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 18, 2013 at 3:30PM

We’re told the driver was near the end of his route and the van had only a handful of packages left inside at the time of the theft. The van was idling in the parking lot when the driver stepped inside the gas station’s convenience store for “a couple of minutes,” a witness said.

While the van was idling, an unidentified suspect allegedly jumped in and speed off onto Clarendon Blvd. Police are now looking for the thief and the white-and-red van.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 16, 2013 at 8:30AM

County Mulls Streetlight Changes — Arlington County is considering changing the type of LED streetlights it uses after complaints from residents. One possible change is using lights with a color temperature that more closely matches traditional sodium-vapor lighting. [Sun Gazette]

Cyclist Sets Up Stolen Bike Sting — A cyclist whose bikes were stolen from a Fairfax County parking garage managed to set up a sting operation in Arlington to try to catch the thief. The cyclist found one of the bikes for sale on Craigslist, arranged for the seller to come to an Arlington parking lot, and flagged down a police officer to lend assistance. After agreeing to a sale, listened to by police via a cell phone in the cyclist’s pocket, the seller was arrested. [Gripped Racing]

News

Officer in Back of Car Surprises Thieves

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 10, 2013 at 4:45PM | Updated July 10, 2013 at 5:29PM

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Due to a number of recent complaints about thefts from cars, the Arlington County Police Department sent a plain clothes surveillance team to the neighborhood. Around 1:30 a.m., officers saw three subjects acting suspiciously in the 1800 block of S. 28th Street. Police say they saw the suspects trying to open car doors and entering unlocked vehicles to steal items.

The three men then reportedly attempted to enter an unlocked, unmarked police car and were startled by an undercover officer in the back seat. Tactical units immediately moved in and arrested 22-year-old Hilary Edmond of Arlington and 18-year-old Robert Holt of Alexandria. With the assistance of a K-9 unit, police later arrested 23-year-old Enrique Vanterpool of Alexandria, who was found hiding under some brush. Vanterpool sustained a dog bite to the arm from the K-9 and was treated at the scene by medics.

News

Arlington Man Arrested for Tysons Credit Card Theft

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 7, 2013 at 1:00PM | Updated June 7, 2013 at 4:07PM

The suspect, 58-year-old Ibrahim Abdullah, was arrested by Fairfax County police at a house on the 1700 block of N. Quebec Street. The arrest happened around 1:40 p.m. on Thursday and prompted some curious neighbors to question why police from another jurisdiction were carrying out an arrest an Arlington home.

According to Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell, Abdullah is accused of swiping a credit card from a victim’s purse or wallet. The alleged theft happened at a Panera Bread restaurant in the Tysons Corner area on Monday, May 27.

News

ACPD Seeks Pool Locker Room Thieves

By ARLnow.com

Published May 7, 2013 at 10:45AM | Updated May 7, 2013 at 2:10PM

Arlington County police are asking for help identifying three suspects who allegedly stole credit cards and cell phones from from the locker rooms of two high school pools.

The suspects were caught on surveillance camera at a CVS in northwest Washington where police say they used their victims’ credit cards.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 2, 2013 at 9:55AM | Updated May 2, 2013 at 10:31AM

WJLA and NewsChannel 8 for Sale — Rosslyn-based TV station WJLA (ABC 7) has been offered for sale by Allbritton Communications. The company is seeking to sell WJLA and its companion cable channel NewsChannel 8 in order to continue investing in new media, like its Politico website and newspaper. Disney, owner of the ABC television network, is thought to be a likely buyer. [WBJ, Washington Post, Politico]

Brink, Lopez Announce Reelection Bids — Dels. Bob Brink and Alfonso Lopez announced their bids for reelection to the Virginia House of Delegates at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. As part of his speech, Lopez made fun of a Republican effort in the state legislature to study the creation of a Virginia-based currency. Lopez joked that he wanted his face on the Virginia $5 bill and Brink’s on the $10 bill, so that “in Virginia it would cost a Brink and a Lopez to buy a pizza.” [Blue Virginia]

News

Crime Report: Laptop Thefts

By ARLnow.com

Published April 17, 2013 at 1:30PM | Updated January 9, 2018 at 3:38PM

A thief or thieves stole laptop computers in three separate burglaries this week, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report.

BURGLARY, 04/11/13, 4600 block of S. 34th Street. Between 7:30 pm and 8 pm on April 11, a victim went on a walk in his neighborhood. When he returned home, it was discovered that a laptop had been stolen from the kitchen. There were no signs of forced entry and there is no suspect(s) description.