Police from three different jurisdictions are on the lookout for suspects in an armed carjacking reported in Vienna Saturday night (Jan. 28).
An individual told the Town of Vienna Police Department around 10:30 p.m. that their vehicle was rear-ended about half an hour earlier near the intersection of Park Street and Moore Avenue SE, according to a news release published yesterday (Sunday).
The citizen exited their vehicle to make contact with the striking vehicle. The occupants of the striking vehicle exited their vehicle, presented a firearm and demanded the citizen give over control of their vehicle. One suspect entered the victim’s vehicle; the second suspect got back into what was described as a black Dodge Challenger and fled the area. The victim’s cell phone was left in their vehicle, preventing them from calling 911.
No injuries were reported, and the firearms weren’t discharged, according to police.
The Vienna police department says it alerted other jurisdictions to the stolen vehicle, which was ultimately found abandoned in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department provided assistance in locating the vehicle.
VPD’s criminal investigations section is now working with D.C. and Baltimore police to try to identify the suspects.
“Vienna Police Department asks for the public’s assistance to locate any eyewitnesses or video of the incident,” the department said. “Please call 703-255-6366 and ask for MPO Juan Vazquez to provide information.”
Photo via Vienna Police Department/Facebook
A Town of Vienna employee returned to work after the holiday weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day to find a pungent surprise in his vehicle.
“An employee reported someone entered his unlocked work truck and put dog feces on the steering wheel,” the Vienna Police Department said in its crime report for the week of Jan. 13-19.
Published today (Friday), the report says that the incident — which has been classified as vehicle tampering — occurred at Vienna Town Hall (127 Center Street South) sometime between 5 p.m. on Jan. 13 and 10 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 17).
Other notable incidents from the report include a Cedar Lane School student in distress running into traffic:
Emotionally Disturbed Person 23-000333
Cedar Lane School
101 Cedar Lane, SE
January 12 8:46 a.m.
School administration reported a juvenile was in their office acting disorderly. When officers arrived, the juvenile fled from the office and ran out onto Cedar Lane where she continued to act disorderly, obstructing traffic and causing a hazard to herself and the officers. MPO Tremont arrested the juvenile on an Emergency Care Order and transported her to a mental health facility for evaluation and treatment.
In addition, Vienna police responded to the 200 block of Locust Street SE at 7:39 a.m. last Friday (Jan. 13) after “a resident reported he received an email in 2020 he believed might be threatening.”
Photo via Vienna Police Department/Facebook
(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) An argument between family members escalated into gunshots being fired outside the Giant Food in Vienna on Sunday (Jan. 8), the town police department said yesterday.
Officers responded to a report of gunfire near the grocery store at 359 Maple Avenue East around 3:40 p.m. One person commented on Nextdoor that their wife was leaving the adjacent Michael’s when she got pulled back inside.
“She says she could smell gun smoke when she was able to leave,” the commenter said.
Two people were injured in the incident. While the injuries were considered minor in both cases, one person was transported to a hospital for treatment.
“Further investigation by the criminal investigations section of the Vienna Police Department determined the incident began as a civil dispute between family members,” the VPD said.
Police initially said one person sustained injuries that were “not the result of a firearm.” When asked if that’s still believed to be the case for one or both individuals involved, the department said it had no further the information to share at the moment.
The investigation is still ongoing. Charges will be filed after investigators consult with the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, police said.
“Shooting incidents are rare in the Town of Vienna and citizens should expect a full and complete investigation,” the VPD said today in a release. “The police department has dedicated numerous personnel to the investigation to ensure a thorough examination of the incident.”
The police say anyone with information about the incident can contact (703) 255-7845 or email juan.vazquez@viennava.gov.
involved sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital where they were treated and released.
The investigation into this incident is on-going. Investigators will consult with the FFX County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to determine which charges will apply.
— Town of Vienna Police (@VPDVA) January 9, 2023
Photo via Google Maps
Vienna police arrested the same man twice earlier this month for separate incidents where he was allegedly drunk, including one where he flashed a gun at a passing dogwalker.
First, an officer was called to Blackstone Terrace and Holmes Drive NW intersection at 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 2 for a report of a man standing outside and yelling profanity, according to the Vienna Police Department’s crime roundup for the week of Dec. 2-8.
“Upon the officer’s interaction with the man, they detected signs of impairment. The man refused to stop yelling or go back into his residence,” police said.
The VPD says the 35-year-old man was arrested and charged with being drunk in public. He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
He evidently didn’t stay in jail long, because two days later, police were called back to Blackstone Terrace at 3:17 p.m. on Dec. 4 when the man allegedly screamed at a teen who was walking their family’s dog:
A juvenile was walking the family dog when a resident in the neighborhood began to scream at him and showed him a firearm in his waistband. A neighbor witnessed the incident and immediately ushered the juvenile safely away and back to his home. Officers located the man and, upon their interaction with him, detected signs of impairment.
The man was again arrested and taken to the Adult Detention Center, receiving charges of “drunk in public” and “brandishing a firearm.”
While the incidents don’t reference each other in the weekly recap, a VPD spokesperson confirmed that they involve the same person.
In other Vienna crime news, a Park Terrace Court resident reported on Thursday (Dec. 8) that there was “a small fire” on the stoop of the condominium building. She believed it may have been set by a neighbor “with who she has had ongoing issues,” according to the police summary.
“The resident stated that she saw her neighbor…carrying some items and placing them on the stoop. She never observed him set the fire,” the VPD said. “The fire was out before the officers arrived. Officers located the neighbor later in the night, and he denied any involvement in the incident.”
Police also responded to two vehicle-related assaults on Thursday:
Assault 22-011734
200 Block Locust Street, SE
December 8 6:36 p.m.
A citizen reported that he was driving eastbound on Locust Street, exiting the traffic circle at Park Street when a man entered the crosswalk. The citizen yielded to the pedestrian, however, the man stopped in the middle of the road. The man proceeded to strike the citizen’s rear window. When the citizen got out of his vehicle to check for damage, the man assaulted him, causing minor injuries to his face. The man left the area when the citizen got back into his vehicle.Arrest – Drunk In Public 22-011744
Locust Street and Cottage Street, SW
December 8 11:53 p.m.
An Uber driver reported that she was transporting a passenger when the woman began to scream, assaulted her, and got out of the vehicle. The driver was concerned for the woman’s safety. Upon the officer’s interaction with the driver, they detected signs of impairment.
In the latter case, the Uber driver — identified as a 56-year-old woman — was arrested, taken to the county jail and charged with being drunk in public.
Male police officers in the Town of Vienna will forgo shaving razors this November for a second consecutive year.
Starting yesterday through Nov. 30, Chief Jim Morris has suspended the Vienna Police Department’s usual prohibition against facial hair to support its “Grow & Give” fundraising campaign, which aims to increase awareness and money for prostate cancer research.
The nationwide initiative benefits ZERO, an Alexandria-based nonprofit that assists prostate cancer patients and their families and supports research, treatment and educational programs.
“Last year, our small department raised the second-highest amount of any public safety organization in the country for the cancer charity — more than $8,000 — and that’s thanks to the generosity of our community,” Morris said in a news release.
The total funds contributed in 2021 easily surpassed the department’s $3,000 goal. It hopes to raise at least $5,000 this year.
Morris said the fundraiser is “especially meaningful” to VPD Public Information Officer Juan Vasquez, whose father died from prostate cancer.
“Participating officers hope that as they start to look a little scruffy in their efforts to support life-saving research,” the VPD said. “Others will be inspired to learn more about the illness and donate to the campaign to help find a cure for prostate cancer.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most common cancers among men in the U.S. are skin and prostate cancer. The latter affects about 13 out of every 100 men, with the risk of getting the disease increasing with age. Black men and people with a family history of prostate cancer are also disproportionately affected.
According to ZERO, which launched in 1996 as the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, 98% of men with prostate cancer survive the first five years after a diagnosis, but that rate drops to 31% if the disease has reached an advanced stage.
ZERO is among several cancer-related nonprofits with a fundraising campaign that encourages people to forgo shaving during November.
The trend started in 2003 with the Australia-based Movember Foundation, which focuses specifically on men’s health. The California-based Matthew Hill Foundation introduced No-Shave November in 2009 as a nod to the hair loss that many cancer patients experience when undergoing chemotherapy, according to its website.
Photo via Town of Vienna Police/Facebook
Recent violent incidents around Vienna included a confrontation between a man and two others leaving his apartment and a battle between a local resident and an Amazon delivery truck.
The weekly Vienna Police Highlights offers a look at the calls for police around town, including notes on arrests and other incidents.
One of the more serious incidents this week involved a resident reportedly being assaulted in the 200 block of Cedar Lane on Thursday, Sept. 22, after confronting two men leaving his apartment.
“A resident reported parking his vehicle in the parking lot when he observed two men leaving his apartment,” the report said. “When he asked the men why they were in his apartment, they assaulted him and left the area in a vehicle.”
The wounds were treated on-site, and the report said it was later determined the two men leaving the apartment were acquaintances of a woman renting a room from the resident.
After obtaining a warrant charging assault and battery, a 23-year-old Vienna man was arrested and is being held on a $1,000 bond.
Another altercation occurred at 100 E Street SE when a resident attacked an Amazon delivery van.
According to the report, the incident took place on Sunday, Sept. 25, around 10 a.m:
An Amazon driver parked in a residential parking space in the townhouse complex to make a delivery. A resident of the complex became agitated with the driver and, as the driver was attempting to drive away, the resident kicked her vehicle causing damage to the door.
A man was arrested yesterday (Tuesday) after reportedly pointing an object that observers initially thought might be a gun at Cunningham Park Elementary School students.
Vienna police were dispatched to the school around 12:51 p.m. in response to a report of a suspicious person described “as an older white male with no shirt, who possibly had a long gun and was pointing it at students,” the Town of Vienna Police Department said in a news release today (Wednesday).
The person who called in the report said they didn’t know whether the object was a toy gun, according to police.
“Upon arrival, officers talked to different sources who confirmed that no firearm was present and that the suspect picked up a metal object and pointed it at students,” VPD said. “He was last seen heading toward Cedar Lane.”
According to police, a man who fit the given description was later spotted bathing in the water fountain at the Vienna Town Green.
Apparently intoxicated, the man was arrested and identified as William Holland of no fixed address, police said. He has been charged with being drunk in public and brandishing within 1,000 feet of a school.
Police conducted a search of the man but didn’t find any weapons, the department says.
VPD says officers learned through a fingerprint search that the man was facing an indecent exposure charge in Alexandria. The city’s police department had a warrant out for him under the name “Mike Astor.”
According to VPD spokesperson Juan Vasquez, the man gave his name as William Holland to the officer who arrested him, but when his fingerprints were collected at the Fairfax County jail, the database matched them to the other name.
The Alexandria City Police Department didn’t immediately return FFXnow’s request for comment.
The man is currently being held on no bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. He has been barred from all Fairfax County Public Schools.
Pickleball has evidently become a hot nighttime activity in the Town of Vienna.
Vienna police have issued six noise violations this year for players hitting the courts at Glyndon Park (300 Glyndon Street) after hours, according to the department.
The most recent issues were reported on Aug. 20 and 24, per the Vienna Police Department’s crime highlights for the week of Aug. 19-25:
Noise Violation 22-008587
Glyndon Park
300 Glyndon Street, NE
August 20 9:39 p.m.
A resident reported that people were playing pickleball on the tennis courts. The officer advised the people playing pickleball of the Park regulation.Noise Violation 22-008719
Glyndon Park
300 Glyndon Street, NE
August 24 8:07 p.m.
A resident reported that people were playing pickleball on the tennis courts. The officer advised the people playing pickleball of the Park regulation that only tennis may be played on the courts after 8:00 p.m.
However, police also responded to noise complaints on Aug. 3 as well as Aug. 7 and 8, according to previous reports.
Four of the six violations involved different people, while two occasions involved the same participants, VPD spokesperson Juan Vazquez told FFXnow.
Glyndon Park’s two tennis courts were renovated so they could also be used as four pickleball courts in fall 2020. However, the park’s rules cut off pickleball play at 8 p.m., whereas tennis can continue until 10 p.m.
Noise has become a source of aggravation for some Vienna residents, whether from construction or outdoor dining, prompting the town council to agree in July to review the noise ordinance for the first time in a decade.
Workers are putting the finishing touches on Vienna’s new police station, which will consolidate all police operations under one roof and provide new community spaces.
After some disruptions earlier this year due to supply chain issues, the $14 million facility is scheduled to finish punch-list items and get a final Fairfax County inspection next week, according to an Aug. 12 update from the Town of Vienna Police Department.
If all of that goes according to plan, the building at 215 Center Street South will open to the public with an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting on Sept. 2, Police Chief Jim Morris told Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton on the most recent “On Deck with Mercury” installment.
“That’s a flexible date, but that’s the date we’re shooting for,” Morris said. “…The idea is to have the ribbon-cutting at 11 with yourself, the mayor, and other local dignitaries, and then open the building up for tours.”
Under construction since January 2021, the new station replaces a 9,800-square-foot building from 1994 with a 30,000-square-foot site that will house offices, training facilities, a firing range, locker rooms, evidence storage, and a multi-purpose room.
At 1,500 square feet in size, the multi-purpose room will serve as a local emergency operations center, a meeting area for the Vienna Town Council, and a hub for community gatherings and programs. A central divider will separate the meeting space from work stations for the emergency center.
Morris said the logistics for how community groups will be able to reserve space are still being finalized.
“We do have the community center and everything, so we have to even things up and make sure everything’s spread out, because I would love to have the community in this space as often as possible,” he said.
The push to integrate the station into the community extends to a new outdoor plaza. The old station had a plaza, but Morris admits it became overgrown, and he never witnessed anyone using it in his nine years with the department.
“We wanted to put a space in front that could change all that, and as you walk outside or walk around, you can see it’s a viable plaza,” Morris said. “There’s seating, there’s plants, there’s good sunlight, it’s open space. I think we’ll see a lot of folks using that plaza.”
There’s no official date yet for when the police department will move from its temporary base at the former Faith Baptist Church next door, but it won’t be until after the public opening. The transition should be “seamless” with no service interruptions, Morris told Mercury.
The police chief anticipates that the additional space and upgraded infrastructure will help recruit new officers and retain existing ones, as law enforcement agencies locally and nationally struggle to attract workers.
“With this building, with body cameras, with new radios, with new in-car video, we’re definitely going to be at the upper-end of policing in the area, so we should be a prime choice for people looking for a career in law enforcement,” Morris said.
Look Out for Spotted Lanternfly — “While there are still no sightings of the spotted lanternfly in Fairfax County, it is getting closer, and experts are on the lookout for it. This summer the invasive pest was found in nearby Loudoun County…The insect feasts on more than 70 plant species, though its preferred host is the tree-of-heaven.” [DPWES]
FCPD Detective Destroyed Evidence of Rape — Fairfax County police are reviewing dozens of unsolved sexual assault cases after the victim of a rape in 1995 learned that a detective had destroyed all physical evidence in her case, including the rape kit. Police now say they believe the woman’s account and that her case was handled inappropriately, but she says the department needs “to somehow be held accountable.” [The Washington Post]
Longtime Fairfax Symphony Leader Dies — “William Hudson, a pianist and conductor who led the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra for 36 years, establishing it as a leading regional orchestra in the capital area, died July 12 at his home in Vienna, Va. He was 89. The cause was atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, said his former wife, Denise Battistone.” [The Washington Post]
Tysons Corner Center Owner Reports Retail Resurgence — “Macerich…noted that distress in the retail industry has slowed dramatically after a pandemic-spurred wave of closures in 2020…Macerich said its leasing activity in the second quarter reflected retailer demand at levels not seen since 2015.” [CNBC]
Vienna Police Share Results of Increased Traffic Enforcement — “After a noticeable increase in stop sign violations, the Town of Vienna Police Department had a directed enforcement initiative during the month of June…During the Stop Sign Enforcement Campaign, officers worked a total of 469 events utilizing stationary observation of stop signs, which generated 219 stop sign violations and 74 other violations.” [Vienna Police]
Local Meal Service Company Gets New HQ — MightyMeals, an overnight meal delivery company that grew out of a Franconia restaurant in 2015, has leased a 16,000-square-foot commercial unit at 7669 Limestone Drive in Gainesville for its new corporate headquarters. The space is seven times larger than its current 2,400-square-foot cooking prep warehouse in Burke. [Washington Business Journal]
Signs for Renamed Vienna Street in Place — “Vienna officials have replaced street signs on the former Wade Hampton Drive with new ones reading ‘Liberty Lane.’ The switch was done in early July ‘with little fanfare’ (as requested by residents), town officials said in the government’s monthly newsletter.” [Sun Gazette]
Bus Planned to Upcoming Innovation Center Metro — “OmniRide is hoping to take advantage of the forthcoming 66 Outside the Beltway toll lanes, and for the first time, its passengers could be getting one-seat trips to the Dulles area by the end of the year. The transit provider is hoping to start a commuter route that would take riders from Balls Ford Road to the Innovation Center Silver Line Metro stop in December” [Inside NoVA/WTOP]
It’s Wednesday — Humid throughout the day. High of 90 and low of 71. Sunrise at 6:13 am and sunset at 8:19 pm. [Weather.gov]
