Monday, May 13, 2013
Some 1,700 people -- family, friends, policemen and policewomen -- arrive at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial by bike to join thousands of others honoring fallen officers in Washington, D.C.
Led by a caravan of motorcycle cops, an estimated 1,700 people arrived at the national police memorial on their bikes Sunday, part of a week-long series of events to honor more than 19,000 officers lost in the line of duty. The motorcyclists and bicyclists rode beside each other and behind each other, into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and between two 304-foot marble walls etched with the names of officers lost. Among the 321 newly etched names for the 2013 ceremony were three officers from Virginia: Prince William County Officer Chris Yung, killed on New Year's Eve 2012; Alexandria Police Officer Morton Marshall Ford III, who died in 2011 from complications caused by his shooting in 1974; and Virginia State Trooper Andrew…
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Your roundup of crime news from inside the Beltway.
The biggest crime news in Arlington this week broke Monday, when a sexual battery charge against U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski came to light. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington man who works at the Pentagon, had been in charge of the Air Force's program to prevent sexual assault. Come Monday, he was removed from that position. The news came a day before the Pentagon released a report that show a sharp escalation in sexual assaults in the military: An estimated 70 sexual assaults involving military personnel happen daily. Of those, only one in six are officially reported, and only one in 10 go to trial. The Air Force asked the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for Arlington and Falls Church to turn jurisdiction over the case to …
It's time for this week's roundup of the region's wackiest news.
Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening in at least one of them. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. Weird Virginia/DC usually runs on Patch sites every Saturday. Everyone knows that Northern Virginia and DC traffic is notoriously bad. Add a sinkhole to the mix, and you've got problems. That's what happened in Reston this week when motorists on Lawyers Road near Steeplechase were detoured, as a 10-foot sinkhole showed itself. Fairfax Water and road crews patched the spot by the evening rush hour, and thankfully no one was injured by the giant hole in the road. We realize everybody hates traffic, but somebody out there also hates Mother's …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Barry Fig has been charged in Fairfax County and Montgomery County, Md.
Arlington County police say a man charged with credit card theft in Fairfax County and Montgomery County, Md., may have more victims in Arlington and are asking them to come forward. Barry Jason Fig was charged with five counts of felony credit card theft in March, according to Arlington police. The thefts occurred at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. Fig allegedly would enter unattended locker rooms and steal items from various equipment bags left there by recreational hockey players, according to police. He would then use them at retail stores, authorities say. Upon his arrest, police found several credit cards in Fig's possession that didn't belong to him — many belonged to victims from Kettler and other area ice rinks, …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Case will go to trial on July 18.
The case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, the Air Force's sexual assault prevention chief who is charged with sexual battery, will go to trial in July. Arlington County General District Court Judge Richard McCue set the trial date at an arraignment Thursday afternoon, scheduling the session for 2 p.m. July 18. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington man who works at the Pentagon, was charged this weekend by local police after a woman said he groped her in Crystal City parking lot. More than 20 media outlets were in court as the judge called Krusinki's name. He entered with his attorney, Fairfax-based Sheryl Shane, wearing a dark blazer and khaki pants. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Cari Steele, who is handling the case for the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
An Internet radio host called for a march from Virginia into the district on July Fourth with loaded guns.
D.C. Chief of Police Cathy Lanier said Metropolitan Police Department officers would meet protesters as they enter the District, should they proceed with their plan to march into Washington with loaded guns, according to the Washington Post. Lanier's remarks were directed at Adam Kokesh, who has created a Facebook page for an event he is calling the "Open Carry March on Washington." "We will march with rifles loaded [and] slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated [or] cower in submission to tyranny," according to the Facebook page. Lanier said there's a difference between civil disobedience and violation of the law. It is legal for D.C. residents to have registered firearms in their homes, but …
U.S. Air Force JAG office requested case be turned over to the military.
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for Arlington and Falls Church will proceed with the the sexual battery case against Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski rather than hand it over to the military for prosecution. Krusinski, a 41-year-old Arlington man who works at the Pentagon, was charged this weekend by local police after a woman said he groped her in Crystal City parking lot. Thanks to his position as chief of the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch, his face — scraped and cut in a booking photo — appeared in national news stories Monday afternoon. Upon hearing the news, the Air Force removed him from his position. Gen. Mark Walsh, Air Force Chief of Staff, told U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine on Tuesday that an area …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Arlington police arrested Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski early Sunday in Crystal City.
The chief of the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch has been charged with sexual battery. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, of Arlington, was removed from that position Monday afternoon, Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy told Patch. Krusinski, who worked out of the Pentagon, was charged this weekend by the Arlington County Police Department. At about 12:35 a.m. Sunday, a drunken Krusinski approached a woman in a parking lot in the 500 block of South 23rd Street and grabbed her breasts and buttocks, according to Arlington police. The woman fought him off as he tried to touch her again, according to police, at which point she was able to call for help. He was arrested and held on a $5,000 unsecured bond. …
Park is located in Arlington, off of George Washington Memorial Parkway and just north of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Update (4:53 p.m.): The body found Monday afternoon in the area of Gravelly Point Park in Arlington is that of 83-year-old Victoria Kong, who was reported missing Friday, the U.S. Park Police have confirmed. "The exact location was north of the airport, south of Gravelly Point off the George Washington Parkway approximately 30 feet from the bike trail in a wooded area," spokesman Paul Brooks said in an email. A search and rescue team with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department found Kong, according to Brooks. The investigation is ongoing. Original story (4:11 p.m.): The U.S. Park Police are investigating the body of a woman found Monday afternoon at Gravelly Point Park. The body was found about 30 feet off a bike …
The man got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.
A robbery occured this morning at a BB&T bank in the 900 block of North Taylor Street in Ballston, according to the Arlington County Police Department. "The subject entered the bank and approached a teller with a hand-written note demanding money. After receiving a sum of money, the suspect fled the scene on foot," according to police. Police have not said how much money was taken. Investigators describe the robber as a 5-foot-7 man with a medium build. He was wearing a dark green trench coat, khaki pants, a red scarf and a Boston Red Sox baseball hat. He also wore glasses and had facial hair. Police have released a still from surveillance footage. (See above.) Authorities are asking anyone with information on this incident or the suspect …
John
8:49 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
God bless ya and those have fallen. One thing tho, be a good guest while in town and don't illegally park, especially during rush hours. And no drinking beers on sidewalks during the day. more ›