Captain Paul Larson, Commander of the 3rd Police District, provides this monthly report via email. You can request that your address be added to the list by emailing him at plarso@arlingtonva.us, or read it on the Barcroft Chat List.

Subject: July Crime report

Everyone:

Here is the information about the crime in the Third District during the month of July. As all of you know, we had a rape on the bike path behind Barcroft Park in early July. The suspect was arrested and is currently being held in the Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria. The suspect is 17 years old and lived in the 800 block of S. Glebe Rd. He has confessed to numerous sexual battery cases in Arlington and Alexandria, along with the rape. It is my understanding the Commonwealth's Attorney will have the juvenile certified as an adult in the next few weeks.

The suspect was arrested as result of luck and good olde police work. A combination of things helped us catch the rapist. The first thing was a very good description of the motorcycle the suspect used as a getaway vehicle. That description triggered the memory of an officer who was working an accident at Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Dr. a couple of hours before the attack. The officer saw a young man that matched the description walking the motorcycle while he was working on the accident. After the attack, the officer went to a store in the area that had video cameras and obtained a picture of the motorcycle. This picture gave was something to specifically look for in the area. We set up surrveillance in several places everyday looking for the suspect. A great deal of manhours went into this effort.

On July 28th, a woman reported being grabbed in the 800 block of S. Glebe Rd. We set up a perimeter and attempted to have a K-9 track the suspect. As the track took place, Detective Rick Rodriguez noticed an exact type of motorcycle we were looking for in the driveway of a house in the 800 block of S. Glebe Rd. Detective Rodriguez obtained the owners information which lead to the arrest of the suspect. This was great work and a tremendous relief not only to you, but to every man and women in the Police Department.

As far as other crime in the district, we have had a pattern of cars being broken into along the Columbia Pike corridor and around Shirlington. These are crimes of opportunity and have no distinctive patterns. As you look at the attached map, you will notice several burglaries in Columbia Heights West, Forest Glen and Glencarlyn. These burglaries are the result of open windows and only minor items were taken.

There were five robberies in the district. Four of the robberies were street robberies and in two of those instances arrests were made by the officers on the street. The fifth robbery was the Rite Aid Pharmacy at Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Dr. The suspect is still outstanding in that case.

There has been some gang activity over the last few weeks. Our Gang Unit, in conjunction with juvenile probation, has made several arrests and we have noticed some of the activity has died down. However, we will continue to be proactive and monitor the situation with the Regional Area Gang Task Force.

I sent a message about starting a blog for the Third District. I have received very positive feedback and will start the blog in early September. Why September? I am going on vacation from August 18th until September 4th and don't see the need to start this until I return from vacation. If you need anything during this time, please contact Sgt. Marc Jenkins at 703-228-7461 or Mjenkins@arlingtonva.us.

Captain Paul Larson
Third District Commander
Arlington County Police Department
1425 North Courthouse Road
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703-228-4097
plarso@arlingtonva.us

Map for July (.pdf format)

For a longer perspective, here are previous crime reports. The numbers were usually worse!

This page was revised on: August 9, 2006.