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Groveton ES teacher arrested for exposing himself to child in Fort Hunt neighborhood

Fairfax County police believe James William Nugent II exposed himself multiple times in the Stratford Landing Elementary School area, including an Oct. 21 incident that led to his arrest (via Google Maps)

A Groveton Elementary School teacher is facing indecent liberties and child pornography charges after allegedly exposing himself to a child this weekend — an incident that police say may not be his first.

James William Nugent II, 27, of Alexandria “lured” a juvenile into his Toyota Sienna van in Fort Hunt’s Stratford Landing neighborhood early in the afternoon on Saturday (Oct. 21), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release yesterday (Wednesday).

“The victim ran away and contacted the police,” the FCPD said, noting that the victim wasn’t injured.

Officers responded to the intersection of Camden Street and Wittington Blvd at 1:30 p.m.

According to the police department, detectives identified Nugent as the van driver based on surveillance footage shared by a community member and a nearby license plate reader. The FCPD partnered with Flock Safety to install automated license plate readers last November, expanding its test of the devices this spring through Oct. 31.

Nugent was arrested yesterday morning. During a search of his residence, detectives found “numerous child sexual abuse material,” the FCPD said.

He has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a child, an offense that applies to situations involving victims under 15 years old, and 13 counts of distributing child pornography.

“Through our detectives’ investigation, they believe Nugent exposed himself to at least four additional victims near Stratford Elementary School within the past two weeks,” the FCPD said. “Detectives would like to speak to anyone who has information about this case or may have been a victim.”

The department advises anyone with potential information to call 703-246-7800, option 3, or submit a tip through Crime Solvers.

Nugent is currently employed by Fairfax County Public Schools as a resource teacher at Groveton Elementary School, which is almost five miles away from where Saturday’s exposure incident occurred.

“The victim in the case is not affiliated with his employment,” police said.

FCPS declined to comment on the case, directing inquiries to the police department. Nugent is still listed as a resource teacher in Groveton Elementary’s staff directory.

Bijan Ghaisar’s family settles civil suit over five years after fatal shooting by Park Police

A U.S. Park Police cruiser in McLean (file photo)

The federal government has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the parents of McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar, who was shot and killed by two U.S. Park Police officers in Fort Hunt more than five years ago.

The settlement will allocate up to 25% of the total — or $1.25 million — to the family’s lawyers with the remaining money going directly to James and Kelly Ghaisar, according to court documents.

Officially approved by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton after a hearing at the federal courthouse in Alexandria on Friday (April 28), the agreement states that it shouldn’t be interpreted as “an admission of liability or fault on the part of the United States.”

In a statement, the Ghaisars said their proceeds from the settlement will go to The Bijan Ghaisar Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to addressing police brutality and helping victims of gun violence — “and other charitable causes.”

Despite agreeing to settle, the family said they “do not believe this is justice” and remain disappointed that federal prosecutors declined multiple times to pursue charges against officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard, who were only identified after the family filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2018.

“We still believe, however, that accountability for Bijan’s murder is possible, somehow, sometime, and some way,” the family said. “We now shift our focus to fighting in Bijan’s name for other victims, and for all Americans, for accountability and prevention of police brutality.”

Rep. Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, including McLean, called the settlement “the clearest admission to date that Bijan Ghaisar did not deserve to be shot and killed.”

“The officers who shot him showed reckless disregard for Bijan Ghaisar’s humanity,” Beyer said in a statement. “Yet, to this day no one has been held accountable for that act that left an unarmed young man dead, or for the unacceptable government stonewalling that compounded the Ghaisar family’s suffering and enraged the community I represent. This lawsuit is ending, but justice has never been done in this case.”

The Department of the Interior, which includes the Park Police, didn’t return a request for comment by press time. The department’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an administrative investigation to determine whether Park Police policies were followed, according to the Washington Post. Read More

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Cartoonist who animated the Beatles and ‘Scooby Doo’ gets spotlight at Fort Hunt gallery

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The eternal question “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” has finally been answered. He’s in Fort Hunt, at least for the weekend.

Works from famed cartoon animator Ron Campbell will be on display and for sale starting tonight (Thursday) through Saturday at Nepenthe Gallery in Fort Hunt.

Campbell is known for his five-decade career animating some of the world’s most beloved cartoons, including Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, The Smurfs, Rugrats, and the 1968 Beatles’ movie “Yellow Submarine.”

“Abbey Road” by Ron Campbell (courtesy Scott Segelbaum)

After retiring, Campbell partnered with Scott Segelbaum to put on a traveling cartoon pop art show featuring works inspired by his 50 years animating beloved television shows.

When the artist died in early 2021, exactly two years ago this weekend, Segelbaum decided to continue the show as a way of keeping his friend’s memory and legacy alive and help others remember their happiest days watching cartoons.

“Ron Campbell basically animated your childhood and your parents’ childhood — and their parents’ childhood,” Segelbaum told FFXnow.

Scooby-Doo by Ron Campbell (courtesy Scott Segelbaum)

When setting the show’s schedule for the year, Philadelphia native Segelbaum looked up art galleries in Alexandria after hearing great things about the local art scene. That’s how he found Nepenthe Gallery.

The relatively new art gallery located in the Hollin Hall shopping center on Fort Hunt Road was opened by the husband-and-wife team of Carrie and Jim Garland in March 2022.

They dreamed of owning a business together after their kids grew up, and an art gallery was a natural fit, considering their families’ long history of collecting art. So, the Garlands opened Nepenthe Gallery and a frame shop below the gallery, which is about a mile from their home in a space that used to be a Curves gym.

“We still get women who come in,” Carrie said. “I always tell them they are welcome to exercise here.”

The gallery’s location in Fort Hunt near the Hollin Hills historic district is in the middle of what Carrie calls an “art-centric corridor” between Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon.

Carrie and Jim both noted that their gallery is open to all sorts of styles of art. They never want to “pigeonhole” it, as Jim said.

So, when Segelbaum reached out about bringing his cartoon pop art show, the Garlands were happy to oblige. Read More

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Upgraded bridge on Mount Vernon Trail in Fort Hunt officially reopens

National Park Service staff, elected officials, and community volunteers celebrate the reopening of Mount Vernon Trail’s Bridge 12 (via National Park Service)

The National Park Service has completed the first of four planned projects to reconstruct bridges along Mount Vernon Trail.

Park service staff, elected officials and community members celebrated the reopening of Bridge 12 near Fort Hunt Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 24). The occasion coincided with National Public Lands Day, which encourages volunteers to help restore and improve national parks and other public lands.

“The Mount Vernon Trail is a very popular recreational resource and these bridge improvements will greatly increase safety for thousands of trail users,” said Charles Cuvelier, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which runs parallel to the 18-mile trail.

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck and state Sen. Scott Surovell were among the officials who attended the ribbon-cutting.

The reconstruction began on Feb. 14 and involved relocating Bridge 12, expanding it to 14 feet in width, installing upgraded railings, and resurfacing the trail to the bridge from Waynewood Blvd to Fort Hunt Road, according to the NPS.

The straighter alignment and reduced slope of the trail leading to and from the bridge enabled by its new location will improve safety, the park service said in its news release.

According to On the MoVe, the previous bridge was “known for frequent bike mishaps” and had been under consideration for an overhaul for decades before getting the needed funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation in 2018. The Federal Highway Administration also assisted.

First opened on April 15, 1972, the Mount Vernon Trail spans over 18 miles from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Theodore Roosevelt Island near Arlington. Maintained with help from the volunteer nonprofit Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, the facility reached its 50th anniversary earlier this year.

NPS’ next reconstructions for the southern end of the trail will focus on Bridges 23 and 24 between Belle Haven Road and Tulane Drive, On the MoVe reported. The park service plans to replace four bridges in all over the next five years.

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Abortion rights supporters protest at Supreme Court justice’s home in Fort Hunt

Abortion rights protestors gather at Hollin Hall Shopping Center in Fort Hunt before marching to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home (via @ShutDownDC/Twitter)

(Updated at 2:25 p.m. on 5/12/2022) The high-stakes battle over abortion access reached a residential neighborhood in Fort Hunt last night (Monday) when protestors marched on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s house.

Drawing about 100 participants, the demonstration was organized by the grassroots protest group ShutDown DC in response to Alito’s draft opinion indicating that the court will overturn its pivotal 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Live video of the protest shows marchers convening at the Hollin Hall Shopping Center on Fort Hunt Road before working their way through neighborhood streets to Alito’s residence. There, they lit candles in the street and delivered speeches for about 15 minutes before returning to the shopping center.

“My body, my choice!” protestors chanted, among other slogans. At one point, they invited residents who came outside to film the passing march to join them, though the onlookers didn’t appear to take them up on the offer.

The Fairfax County Police Department confirmed that its officers responded to the gathering but described the demonstrations as peaceful.

“Officers remained on scene to ensure the safety of the participants, our community members and the roadways until the crowd dispersed on their own,” the FCPD said. “No arrests were made.”

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said last night that his office coordinated with Fairfax County and Virginia State police, as well as federal authorities, to monitor the protest.

“Virginia State Police will assist federal and local law enforcement as needed to ensure the safety of our citizens, including Supreme Court Justices, who call Virginia home,” Youngkin said on Twitter.

The protest at Alito’s house was one of several abortion-rights demonstrations that have popped up across the D.C. area since Politico published the leaked draft opinion on May 2. A ruling in the case, which involves a challenge to a ban on abortions after 15 weeks in Mississippi, is expected to be finalized this summer.

Students at 11 high schools in Fairfax County rallied yesterday to express their support for abortion as a right and urge state and federal legislators to protect access to the medical procedure.

Protestors have also shown up at the residences of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who both live in Montgomery County, as well as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who lives in Pimmit Hills. The protests don’t appear to have reached Justice Clarence Thomas in Fairfax Station.

The protests led the Senate to pass legislation yesterday enhancing security at Supreme Court justices’ homes, though the bill still needs to be considered by the House.

The Virginia Republican Party condemned the protests as “an abhorrent and vile affront to the processes of the highest court.”

“Intimidation of the Justices and the threat of violence against them and their families has no place in our Commonwealth or our country,” Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Rich Anderson said in a statement. “Targeting the home of a Justice is wrong, and these protestors should be ashamed of their actions.”

The Democratic Party of Virginia expressed support for yesterday’s student protests but did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Alito demonstration.

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