Police say Christopher Bellini, 59, was stabbed to death in his Falls Church home by his son, Alexander Bellini.
Police were dispatched to the 2300 block of Watters Glen Court around 1 a.m. yesterday for a domestic abuse. According to a police report, Christopher was found suffering from apparent stab wounds. Officers rendered aid until rescue personnel arrived, but Christopher was pronounced dead at the scene.
The report said Alexander Bellini, 28, of Chantilly, was found inside the home and taken into custody.
“Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau determined Alexander is the decedent’s son and was prohibited from contacting his father due to a recent protective order,” police said.
Police said Alexander was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and charged with second degree murder and violation of a protective order while armed with a deadly weapon. No one else was harmed and a knife allegedly used by Alexander was recovered at the scene.
Photo via Fairfax County Police Department
An active investigation is ongoing into the death of an 11-year-old boy, but Fairfax Police say death appears to have been accidental.
The incident occurred in the 1700 block of Maxwell Court in McLean yesterday afternoon. The child was found critically injured and was taken to the hospital where the child died.
Detectives are in the 1700 block of Maxwell Court in McLean after an 11-year-old child was critically injured and taken to the hospital where the child died. Preliminarily, the death appears to be accidental and there is no apparent threat to public safety. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/u9TZNPSKDi
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 21, 2020
The Washington Post reported the incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. as the boy was playing with his friends.
According to a police report, two acquaintances were robbed at gunpoint earlier this week at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road).
The police said the incident happened on Tuesday, Oct. 13, around 8:11 p.m. According to the report:
Two acquaintances reported they were returning to their car when they were approached by three men. The men displayed firearms, demanded their money and merchandise, and ran away. No injuries were reported.
Other crimes around the McLean district this week included a carjacking at gunpoint on Saturday, Oct. 10. The incident reportedly happened at the Residence Inn at 8400 Old Courthouse Road. According to the report:
A man reported that he was in a parking lot when a man approached him, displayed a gun and demanded his car keys. The man drove away in the victim’s 2018 Mercedes sedan after taking cash and personal property. No injuries were reported.
Staff photo by Michelle Goldchain
Two U.S. Park Police officers have been indicted in the fatal shooting of McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar in 2017, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced on Thursday (Oct. 15).
A grand jury handed down indictments with one charge of manslaughter and one for reckless discharge of a firearm against Officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas W. Vinyard, who remain on paid administrative duty following the shooting, according to The Washington Post.
The indictments represent one of the first significant steps toward legal action against the officers involved in Ghaisar’s killing, a saga that has now spanned three years as his family, the McLean community, and elected officials have criticized the Park Police and FBI for the pace and lack of transparency of their investigations.
“Justice has not yet come for the Ghaisar family, but today is a major step forward in that journey,” Descano said in a statement announcing the indictments. “That journey has a number of steps to go.”
A 25-year-old Langley High School who lived in Tysons and worked as an accountant in McLean, Ghaisar was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run crash in Alexandria on Nov. 17, 2017 that drew the attention of nearby Park Police officers, resulting in an extended car chase on George Washington Memorial Parkway.
An in-car camera video taken by Fairfax County police officers who joined the pursuit as backup showed two Park Police officers, who have since been identified as Amaya and Vinyard, firing into Ghaisar’s vehicle multiple times after he stopped at the intersection of Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue.
Ghaisar died at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Nov. 28, 2017 after spending 10 days in a coma.
While the main investigation of the shooting was handled by the FBI, the Fairfax County Police Department conducted an internal investigation that determined none of its officers had fired their weapons. Chief Ed Roessler released the video footage of the incident in January 2018.
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice ultimately announced in November 2019 that they would not pursue charges against Amaya and Vinyard.
Descano announced on Jan. 30 that the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney would investigate Ghaisar’s shooting, and he eventually convened a special grand jury in September.
The Justice Department’s refusal to produce witnesses for the grand jury and a potential trial has complicated Fairfax County’s investigation, according to Descano, who thanks Roessler and the FCPD for providing evidence and assisting with the case.
“I wish this could have been done in a faster fashion,” Descano said. “However, there is no shortcut to justice. This is a very complex and nuanced case. The pursuit of these indictments involved the careful review of over 11,000 pieces of documentary evidence, the chasing down of additional evidence, and the conducting of in-person interviews and discussions in the midst of a global pandemic.”
Because the defendants are federal officers, Descano says he anticipates that they will file motions to move the case to federal court within the next 30 days.
He also expects the federal government to seek a dismissal on the basis of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which gives federal laws and powers precedence over those of a state.
According to The Washington Post, a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the Park Police that Ghaisar’s family filed with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria in August 2018 is scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 16.
Image via Fairfax County Police Department
Construction on a new facility for the Vienna Police Department appears on track to start this December, Vienna Police Chief Jim Morris told the Town of Vienna Planning Commission on Wednesday (Oct. 14).
With the bidding process for a contractor to construct the new station at 215 Center Street S. now complete, the Vienna Town Council will select a winning bidder during its regular meeting on Oct. 26.
Given that timeline, Morris says he anticipates that police department staff will start transitioning out of the existing station and into a temporary facility in the former Faith Baptist Church at 301 Center Street S. within the next 60 days.
“Between now and December, we’re going to slowly be migrating over into the facility,” Morris said, citing information technology needs as the primary challenge for preparing the temporary space.
The Town of Vienna purchased the three-acre Faith Baptist Church property for $5.5 million on Sept. 18 with the goal of converting it into a public facility. Initially, the building will serve as temporary office space for the police department, but the town has not yet settled on a long-term plan for the site.
As part of the 2232 Review process required for proposed public facilities, the Vienna Planning Commission voted on Wednesday to affirm that the proposed use of 301 Center Street S. is in accordance with the town’s comprehensive plan, which the town council amended on Oct. 5 to designate the property for governmental use instead of institutional use.
The planning commission also recommended that the Board of Zoning Appeals approve a conditional use permit for the site so that the police department can utilize it as a temporary facility.
The zoning appeals board’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21.
According to Michael D’Orazio, Vienna’s deputy director of planning and zoning, the police department is planning to primarily use the former church property as office space with a maximum of 15 employees working there at any given time.
The facility will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to police staff, with members of the public permitted on Mondays through Fridays by appointment. About 35 parking spaces in the existing church lot will be sectioned off for the police department, both for police vehicles and the staff’s personal vehicles.
Morris says the building at 301 Center Street has definite advantages over the Beulah Road property that Vienna had originally envisioned serving as a temporary facility while the new police station is under construction.
In addition to having more space, the Faith Baptist Church building has two floors so that the police department can set up administrative offices and other rooms accessible to the public on the ground level, while reserving the second floor for functions just for police officers and staff, such as changing rooms, a rest area, and space for roll call, meals, and report writing.
The church also has a gymnasium that can hold fitness equipment for police officers.
“We were very relieved when this space became available,” Morris said.
Image via Town of Vienna
Please stop leaving bags of vomit outside Emmaus United Church of Christ (900 Maple Avenue E).
This week’s Vienna Police Report notes that, between Aug. 18 and Oct. 3, on three separate occasions an employee at the church has found bags of vomit left in the parking lot:
An employee at the Church reported that on three separate occasions someone had left bags filled with vomit in the parking lot near the playground area.
Another littered puke balloon was reported later in the police report, sometime between 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 and 8 a.m. on Oct. 7.
Other tales of crime and mischief in this week’s report included vandalism of political signs and a man suspected of stealing chestnuts from a neighbor’s tree:
A resident reported that he observed an elderly man in his backyard. When the resident confronted
the man, he began walking toward Marshall Road. The resident believes the man may have been
stealing chestnuts from the tree in his yard.
Photo via Google Maps
Wegmans Manager Talks Hype for Tysons Location — “I’m most excited about our brand-new Tysons store opening with over 400 of my newest friends on Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing new customers walk through the doors of ‘their Wegmans’ and feel at home.” [Patch]
New Roles for County Bus Drivers — Fairfax County Public Schools’ bus drivers are taking on new roles during a hiatus in in-person learning. Some were matched with temporary jobs based on their skill set. [NBC 4]
Coffee With a Cop Scheduled for Oct. 7 — While this year’s national Coffee With A Cop observance was called off recently due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Fairfax County Police Department is moving forward with their own events in hopes of connecting with the communities they serve. [Patch]
In this week’s crime report, Vienna police said officer’s responded to calls for a thermostat quarrel and for the town’s very own wet bandits.
On Sept. 27 around 3:30 p.m., officers responded to a call about flooding in a vacant home on the 500 block of Kibler Circle. According to the report:
An officer responded to the report of a large amount of water running from a vacant home that was
newly built. The doors to the home were secure. A hose was running to one of the windows and
a substantial amount of water was observed on the floor of the kitchen and foyer. The builder was
notified and believed this was a result of a criminal act.
Other incidents this week included a call for a domestic fight between roommates over a temperature gauge. According to the report:
A resident reported that her roommate assaulted her and broke the thermostat in the apartment.
The roommate advised that she removed the batteries from the thermostat, making the resident
angry and that the resident assaulted her. The roommate agreed to fix the thermostat. Both women
were advised of the warrant process should they wish to pursue charges.
Photo via Facebook
Amid national protests over police violence, the Fairfax County Police Department highlighted a few recent incidents in the McLean district that exemplified how encounters with the police should go.
The Fairfax County Police Department is no stranger to questionable use of force, but in the video, Sgt. Scott Shafer discussed details of two cases in the McLean Police District and one in the Fair Oaks district where a violent confrontation was resolved peacefully.
The first was at the intersection of Wild Blue Indigo Court and Wood Violet Court just south of Fairlee.
“In August, officers responded to a report of a naked man acting disorderly,” Shafer said. “Suspect was destroying items and shattered the front glass door of a home. It was determined there was a victim on scene who had been assaulted and needed stitches.”
Police said the naked man was peacefully taken into custody.
The other incident was outside of a Giant in McLean.
“Officers responded to this Giant for a weapon’s call,” Shafer said. “An argument occurred after an employee told a customer to wear a mask. The customer threatened the employee with a knife, stole an item, and ran away. Officers located the man who was holding a metal pipe and refused commands to stop. The man turned and threw a knife at the officers, thankfully missing them. Twelves knives were recovered from the man after he was arrested.”
Captain Dalton Becker, commander of McLean station, said the incidents just described are just a small piece of what officers see on a daily basis.
“I’m very proud of the McLean officers,” Becker said, “as well as all Fairfax County officers.”
The only officer-involved shooting of 2020 was in the McLean Police District. Police say that shooting occurred in January when a Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) entered a house while serving a narcotics search warrant.
Police say a Fredericksburg man was arrested last Saturday night after a an alleged home burglary.
The burglary took place on the 8100 block of Larkin Lane in the Dunn Loring neighborhood at around 11:48 p.m. According to police:
A homeowner was awakened by the sound of glass breaking on the lower level of the house. The homeowner investigated further and was confronted by an unknown man inside the house.
A 32 year old man was arrested at the scene and charged with unlawful entry.
Also in local crime, yesterday morning (Thursday) police say they located a 1998 Honda Accord in the 2800 block of Lee Landing Court in Falls Church that had been reported stolen. The police report said the juvenile fled the vehicle and led officers on a brief foot chase before he was caught, arrested, and charged with grand larceny, possession of burglarious tools, and obstruction of justice.
