Vienna police are looking for the suspect(s) who damaged several vehicles around town — and also “ripped branches” from a tree.
“A citizen stated they were driving down Nutley Street when someone threw something over a fence in the area of Roland Street, leaving scratches on their vehicle,” police said.
Police said they did not find anyone in the area, but did find branches and a large rock in the road. “They also observed a tree where it appeared someone ripped branches from it. “
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. at Courthouse Road and Roland Street SW on Friday, Aug. 30.
In the last 10 days, the police received four other reports of damage to vehicles.
A man reported to the police that someone damaged his vehicle in the 700 block of Meadow Lane SW while he was visiting a friend on Friday, Aug. 30, night.
The Vienna resident said that someone threw paint on her car in the 500 block of Yeonas Drive SW between 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, and 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1.
“The resident was able to clean the paint off before notifying the police,” according to the police report.
On Labor Day (Sept. 2), a Vienna resident told police that someone had “tampered with” his vehicle in the 200 block of PArk Terrace Court SE. “An officer examined the vehicle but found no evidence indicating that anyone had done anything to the vehicle,” police said.
Last Tuesday (Sept. 3), a Vienna resident said that his son left his vehicle parked on Windover Avenue by James Madison Drive NW while he was in school and then found the vehicle damaged.
Photo via Facebook
Fairfax County police arrested two D.C. men in a parking garage near Tysons Corner Center for alleged larceny on Labor Day (Monday).
While police were investigating several car break-ins in a parking garage in the 1900 block of Chain Bridge Road, they said they saw a man crouched behind a car.
“He was arrested and officers then found another man sitting in a white van that contained stolen property from the earlier thefts,” according to the police report.
The two men were charged with seven counts of larceny from a motor vehicle, destruction of property, possession of burglarious tools and possession of stolen property. They were held without bond.
Last Saturday (Aug. 31), police arrested a 24-year-old Fairfax man in connection with a stolen auto from the Tysons Galleria parking garage.
“Officers used garage surveillance footage to locate the suspect in the mall,” police said.
Police arrested and charged the man with auto theft, possession of burglarious tools, possession of forged banknotes, possession of marijuana and displaying altered/fictitious registration. He was held without bond.
Image via Google Maps
Tysons Reporter is back with its new monthly crime map showing where the incidents occurred in Fairfax County Police Department’s McLean District Station.
We went ahead and pulled together all of the incidents noted for the McLean District Station in FCPD crime recaps from Aug. 1-31, weeded out the ones that are not in the Tysons Reporter coverage area and plotted them in the interactive map above.
The McLean District Station covers crime in Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons and Great Falls.
The map only includes information from FCPD and does not include reports to the police departments in the Town of Vienna or the City of Falls Church.
Use the icon in the top left corner of the map to toggle between the various types of crimes displayed.
Fairfax County’s weekday police recaps are not comprehensive lists of every incident and the addresses are approximate. FCPD also notes that information in the recaps “is generally based on initial reports made to the police department.”
Anyone with information about any of these crimes should call 703-691-2131 or 1-866-411-TIPS(8477).
Vienna police are looking for the suspect who brandished a knife at customers inside the Panera Bread along Maple Avenue.
The incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. last Friday (Aug. 23) at 136 W. Maple Avenue.
“A subject walked into the store and brandished a knife at customers inside the store,” police said. “The subject then left the store on foot prior to police arrival.”
A Panera Bread employee called the police, according to the report.
In a separate incident, police are investigating an attempted fraud involving the Giant at 359 E. Maple Avenue yesterday (Thursday).
Shortly before midnight, “a person called into Giant and impersonated a security officer for the supermarket chain in an attempt to scam one of their store employees out of a large amount of money,” police said.
“The employee realized it was a scam and hung up the phone before completing the unusual request,” police said.
Photo via Facebook
The left lane of eastbound Leesburg Pike at Gosnell Road is closed.
A traffic signal outage caused the lane closure, Fairfax County Police Department tweeted at 9:17 a.m.
Police are on scene, according to the tweet.
Drivers can expect delays.
TRAFFIC ALERT: The left lane of EB Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7) at Gosnell Road is closed due to a traffic signal outage. Officers are on-scene. Please use caution and expect delays. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/R9m83u5Rwa
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) August 30, 2019
Map via Google Maps
Veronica Youngblood, accused of murdering her two children in Tysons, may undergo a mental health evaluation, according to news reports.
Youngblood was arrested in Loudoun County and charged with murder after police found two girls with gunshot wounds in their Tysons apartment last year, Tysons Reporter previously reported.
The 5-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 15-year-old died at the hospital.
The incident happened after a custody dispute between Youngblood and her divorced husband, WTOP reported.
In May, a Fairfax County grand jury indicted Youngblood with two murder charges, according to news reports.
The state attorney said Youngblood is considering an insanity defense, adding that her client has had mental health issues before, including suicide attempts and “a trauma background,” WTOP reported.
WTOP also noted that the judge agreed to delay the Nov. 4 trial. A new trial date has not been set.
Photo courtesy FCPD
Plants have been reported stolen around the Tysons area three times this month, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The first report showed up in the Aug. 1 daily crime recap. Police said a cellphone and plant were stolen from a Falls Church home in the 2800 block of Bolling Road.
Several weeks passed and then the Tuesday (Aug. 27) recap said that plants were swiped from a Merrifield residence in the 8100 block of Lee Hwy.
The Wednesday (Aug. 28) recap said plants were taken from a McLean business in the 6800 block of Elm Street.
File photo
Police have identified the body found in Great Falls Park on Saturday as a 77-year-old retired pastor of a McLean church.
Around 9:45 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 24), U.S. Park Police responded to a report from a kayaker about a dead body found at Great Falls Park (9200 Old Dominion Drive), police said.
U.S. Park Police said that the “investigation revealed that the man fell onto rocks.”
Police identified the man as Russell Larkin. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Pete Piringer, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, tweeted that a search and body recovery took place on the Potomac River between Sandy Landing and Rocky Island.
Fairfax County Police Department said that Larkin had been reported missing around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, The Washington Post reported.
“The current pastor of Chesterbrook United Methodist Church told FOX5 Larkin was the pastor of that church from 2011 to 2016 where he was loved, respected and was a big part of keeping that church open when it faced some hard times,” FOX5 reported.
Search & Recovery (body) – Potomac River between Sandy Landing & Rocky Island @mcfrs SW710, SW710B, SW730, SW730B, BC702 on call @ffxfirerescue assisting (call originated from Va) @COcanalNPS (note: @mcfrs file photos) pic.twitter.com/QNVs70MSZb
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 24, 2019
U.S. Park Police have now identified body pulled from the Potomac River in Great Falls Park Saturday as 77 yr old Russell Eugene Larkin – he was discovered by kayakers…friends tell @fox5dc he was a well-loved former pastor of Chesterbrook United Methodist Church in McLean pic.twitter.com/G6aIVmk1SM
— Anjali Hemphill (@AnjaliHemphill) August 27, 2019
Fairfax County police are investigating a burglary at the Koons Tysons Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram dealership in Tysons.
The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday (Aug. 22) at 2050 Chain Bridge Road.
“A suspect broke into the business and stole cash,” police said.
Image via Google Maps
After two bench thefts, the Vienna Arts Society is determined to keep the remaining 40 benches painted by local artists available for public enjoyment.
When the first bench disappeared, Ken Britz, a Vienna Arts Society spokesperson, said that the art group was disappointed, but knew theft was a possibility.
When the second bench was snatched, though, the Vienna Arts Society decided it was time to work with local law enforcement to institute security measures.
The remaining benches will now be either padlocked or chained down. “It won’t stand in the way of a determined thief, but it will be a deterrent,” Britz said.
On top of the locks, Deputy Chief of Police Dan Janickey said at the Vienna Town Council meeting last week that law enforcement officers will keep a closer eye on the remaining benches.
The Vienna Police Department is still looking for a culprit and doesn’t have any leads yet, Janickey said.
The art group said keeping the benches aesthetically appealing for visitors is their main concern when it comes to adding security measures.
“We don’t wanna make it unsightly or emphasize the thefts,” he said.
Joann Meginley is the owner of Grass Roots Fitness in Vienna and the sponsor of the first missing bench. In coordination with the studio and the arts society, the artist of the bench agreed to recommission a new bench for the location.
Meginley said that it should be completed by Labor Day and will be placed in the missing bench’s original location, outside Meginley’s fitness studio.
The second stolen bench will not be recommissioned, because the artist is on vacation and will not have time when they return, Britz said.
The benches are available for public viewing throughout the town until they go to auction on Nov. 2.
Photos in the last image via Susan Scanlon and the Vienna Arts Society/Facebook
