The Vienna Police Department is making some alterations to reduce the chance of spreading the coronavirus.
Chief Jim Morris announced today (Wednesday) that the police department plans to increase social distancing by:
- taking police reports via phone for “minor and non-violent crimes”
- restricting access to the police lobby to “immediate police assistance”
- urging people to call the police at 703-255-6366
- suspending low priority services: Ride-Along, PIO public engagements, VIN verifications and child safety seats
installations
“The process of handling some calls for service over the phone and limiting other services is temporary and will be continually reevaluated in the coming weeks,” Morris said.
Police will show up for incidents for evidence collection and when a crime is in progress, Morris said.
Now, when people call to file a police report, communications personnel will screen callers to see if they meet the criteria for a telephone follow-up.
“If so, you may be advised that an officer will call you back to assess the need to respond in person or complete the
report via telephone,” Morris said. “If you feel that an officer is required, you may make that request, and an officer will respond.”
People are advised to meet police outside and stand several feet apart. All of the reports will go into the same records management system, Morris said.
“By using telephone reporting, you will help us limit exposure,” Morris said.
Photo via Facebook
Vienna police are investigating a series of vehicle break-ins and thefts around the town last week.
Four incidents occurred on Wednesday (March 11), according to the police reports.
One person at the Wolftrap Hotel (430 Maple Avenue W.) reported to the police that someone smashed the rear window of her vehicle and stole her purse between 5 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Another woman reported that the front passenger window of her vehicle was smashed between 7 a.m.-2:40 p.m. in the 100 block of East Street SE. One the same block and in the same time period, a man said that someone smashed the front passenger window of his vehicle and stole a black backpack, police said.
Lastly, a woman told police that someone smashed the front passenger window of her vehicle and stole her purse in the 500 block of Beulah Road NE between 3:30-4:20 p.m.
As of Friday, it was too soon to tell if the cases are related or not, Juan Vazquez, a spokesperson for the Vienna Police Department, told Tysons Reporter.
Photo via Facebook
Vienna police are urging people to send in tips for their investigation of a burglary at a local gun store on Maple Avenue.
Deputy Chief of Police Dan Janickey told the Vienna Town Council last night that detectives are working “nonstop” on the case.
Janickey said that police showed up at the Vienna Arsenal (386 Maple Ave E.) right around when the store’s owner was checking on an alarm that sounded around 6 a.m. last Monday (March 2).
“We responded and found a forced entry into a second-story window where they were able to gain entry and steal approximately 25 guns,” he said.
The police department received some “useful information” through NextDoor, Janickey said, urging people to reach out to the police department if they have any information.
Janickey said that the police department is working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the store’s owner to determine what types and models of guns were stolen.
The Vienna Arsenal has alarm and camera systems, along with metal bars on its windows, he said.
People with any information about the case are asked to contact Detective Leroux at 703-255-6322 or email him at [email protected].
Image via Town of Vienna
Fairfax County police said they recently arrested a woman for allegedly trespassing with a gun in a truck near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. in the 2600 block of Prosperity Avenue yesterday (Thursday).
“The victim saw a woman inside of his truck and confronted her,” police said. “The woman displayed a gun then left the area and was found by officers a short distance away”
Police charged the 24-year-old woman from South Carolina with brandishing a firearm, concealed carry weapon violation and vehicle trespassing.
File photo
Vienna police are investigating reports of indecent exposure at the Vienna Presbyterian Church and the Estate Market.
Both indecent exposures happened last Thursday (Feb. 27). The first incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. at the church (124 Park Street NE).
A female resident said “she was in a room of the Church for a prayer meeting when a man approached the door exposing himself,” according to the police report, adding that the man left the church in an unknown direction.
Then, at 10:30 a.m., an Estate Market employee told police that a man asked her a few questions and briefly walked around the store (134 Maple Ave E.) before exposing himself to the employee the report said.
“When the employee screamed, the man fled the store,” the report said. “Officers searched the area but did not locate the man.”
Image via Google Maps
Police arrested a Falls Church resident who works for the Town of Vienna for allegedly having child pornography.
City of Falls Church police arrested 36-year-old Tyler Weepie this morning (Tuesday) and charged him with four counts of possession of child pornography, the city said in a press release.
Weepie has worked as an engineering technician for the Town of Vienna since 2016, according to a Vienna press release, which said that Weepie has been placed on administrative leave.
Officers participating in the regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force made the arrest, according to the City of Falls Church.
“We’re obviously disappointed and disturbed by this news,” Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton said in a statement. “We support the important work of the ICAC task force and have zero tolerance for crimes against children.”
Currently, Weepie is being held without bond in in the Arlington County Jail, the press releases said.
Separately Tuesday afternoon, a Vienna man pleaded guilty to multiple child exploitation offenses, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Alan Tabish pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and the attempted transfer of obscene material to minors and will be sentenced on June 23, facing 7 to 12 years in prison, according to a press release.
Photo via Arlington County
A McLean man linked to a neo-Nazi group has been sentenced for possessing firearms as a drug user and lying to buy a semiautomatic rifle.
Andrew Thomasberg, a 21-year-old who is a member of the Atomwaffen Division, purchased a semiautomatic rifle for a third party, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“He transferred that firearm to that third party after purchasing it,” the press release said. “Thomasberg also possessed at least four firearms while unlawfully using controlled substances, including marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and opium.”
Thomasberg pleaded guilty in November to possessing firearms while being an unlawful drug user and making a false statement in order to illegally purchase a firearm
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today that he was sentenced to one year in prison.
More from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia:
According to court documents and testimony, Thomasberg, who has a prior criminal conviction for a dangerous firearms offense, was associated with white supremacist organizations, such as Vanguard America, Atomwaffen Division, and Patriot Front.
In text message communications, while Thomasberg possessed firearms and was a regular drug user, he glorified racially motivated violence and referred to mass shooters as “saints.”
Additionally, Thomasberg informed law enforcement that only one day before he was arrested, he had submitted an application to join Patriot Front. Patriot Front is “a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them alone.”
Photo via Joe Gratz/Flickr
The Vienna Police Department is looking for the man who allegedly exposed himself to a woman on Sunday (Feb. 16).
The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 106 Center Street N., which is near the Vienna Elementary School.
The woman, who was in her vehicle when the incident occurred, told police that she saw a man on the sidewalk near the building and that he exposed himself to her and began walking toward her, according to the police report.
“The woman immediately left the area and called the police,” police said. “Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the man.”
In a separate incident, Vienna police arrested a 25-year-old D.C. man for alleged prescription drug fraud.
Police said that the man tried to fill fraudulent prescriptions at the Vienna Drug Center (150 Maple Avenue W.) three times between December and February.
It is unclear if the man was able to fill a prescription on Dec. 17, but police said that he obtained fraudulent drugs from the pharmacy between Feb. 10-14.
On Tuesday (Feb. 18), an employee at the pharmacy reported to the police that the man was trying to fill a fraudulent doctor’s order, police said.
Police arrested and charged the man with prescription fraud and transported him to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Photo via Facebook
Fairfax County police said that a 21-year-old man from Falls Church is facing felony charges for allegedly soliciting sex from minors via social media accounts.
Police said that they began their investigation last month after a minor told their parents about unwanted sexual contact with the man.
Detectives believe the man “used several social media accounts with false names while also misrepresenting his age to solicit sex from minors,” police said.
The man, who was arrested yesterday (Wednesday), is facing two felony charges of carnal knowledge and the use of a communication device to solicit a minor, according to police.
He was taken to the Adult Detention Center and released on bond, police said.
File photo
After a series of vandalisms and an assault, the owner of Skorpio’s Maggio’s Greek Family Restaurant is unsure why she has been the target.
The restaurant was vandalized about half of a dozen times this winter, and owner Sherry Maggio was the victim of an assault in January by a man who spat at her and threw hot coffee on her, according to Vienna police reports.
Though a 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with simple assault and battery, Vienna police are still investigating the vandalism incidents, according to the police department.
In one incident, ketchup was smeared on the windows of the restaurant and the restaurant’s van, while in another incident, “tire slime” was put on the sidewalk, furniture and statue in front of the restaurant, according to Vienna police reports.
A police spokesperson said the department doesn’t understand the motive behind the vandalism.
“It’s kind of strange,” the spokesperson said. “The owners are really nice… I can’t imagine why someone would do that.”
After the assault, the man charged with the crime posted inflammatory comments about Maggio on his Instagram accounts, calling her names, accusing her of lying to the police and claiming he can get away with anything because he has connections within the court system.
A police spokesperson declined to say whether or they have a suspect for the vandalism cases, saying that the incidents are currently under investigation.
The police department is trying to review video footage, the spokesperson said.
Though the vandalism incidents haven’t caused monetary damages, clean-up has taken significant time and labor, Maggio said, adding that she is worried about similar incidents happening in the future.
“It took my guys almost an hour to scrub everything off the sidewalk,” she said about the incident involving the tire slime.
Maggio said she is keeping track of details and evidence with the incidents, so she’ll have a paper trail.
Photo via Google Maps
