This Last Week in Crime: Those Fun-Loving Kids!

Fairfax County Police arrested a Reston teen for a couple of burglaries that took place in May and June.

Police have charged a 17-year-old Reston boy in two recent burglaries.

The first burglary happened May 31 in the 2000 block of Royal Fern Court, and the second occurred on June 21 in the 12000 block of Greywing Square.

Police arrested the teen after the saw him allegedly peeping into the windows a ground-floor apartment in the 12000 block of Greywing Square on Friday.

Those crazy kids! Of course, like all impressionable youngsters, he was merely imitating an older role model when he was lurking around Greywing.

Meanwhile, in the other other Reston, the one in Canada where they have loonie-sized hail, someone got shot to death, which confirms everything we've always suspected about that vermeer of politeness feigned by our neighbors to the north, the end.

Meet Your Neighbors: Whenever you see the words 'bloody trail' in a headline, you know you're in for a good time

Meet Reston native James Liebetran. When this fun-loving 27-year-old wants to shake off the mauve dust of our beloved New Town(tm), he goes to Fredericksburg to blow off some steam. Want to catch up with him? Just follow the trail of blood.

A trail of blood led police to a man suspected of trying to break into a Fredericksburg residence a short time earlier.

City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said a resident in the 300 block of Hanover Street was awakened by the sound of breaking glass about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Officers followed a trail of blood and found the suspect at the corner of Hanover Street and Kenmore Avenue a short time later. Blood was still dripping on the sidewalk and one arm was cut badly enough to require about a dozen stitches, Bledsoe said.

James Liebetran, 27, of Reston was charged with unlawful entry, destruction of property and public intoxication. The suspect told police he'd been celebrating at Spirit's downtown earlier in the evening but declined to say how both of his arms got bloodied.

Of course he didn't say -- what happens in Fredericksburg stays in Fredericksburg.

This Week in Crime: Another Week, Another Incredibly Creepy Assault

Another creepy, middle-of-the-night assault has taken place in Greywing Square, this time after the assailant entered an apartment through an unlocked door.

Police are investigating a reported burglary and sexual assault that occurred early Saturday morning in Reston. At 2:45 a.m. on June 21 officers responded to an apartment in the 12000 block of Greywing Square. The victim, a 22-year-old Reston woman, was asleep in her bed when she awoke to an unknown man touching her. The victim yelled and the suspect fled out her sliding glass door. He then jumped off the balcony and ran away. The victim had no apparent injuries.

An investigation determined the suspect entered through the unlocked sliding glass door. The suspect was described as possibly Hispanic and 20 to 30 years old. He was about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds with brown hair. He was wearing a light-colored, polo-type shirt with stripes and jean shorts.

The description matches the person who allegedly creeped out a couple of women in a laundry room in the same complex last fall. We've poked fun at people who'd found themselves in trouble after wandering the mean streets of Reston alone in the middle of the night, but it's a bit different when something like this happens inside someone's house. And by "a bit different," we mean it sucks.

This Week in Crime: Saddest. Police Blotter Item. Ever.

- A bench was reported stolen from a residence in the 12300 block of Brown Fox Way (link).

There are no words.

Reston's Vibrant Economy Part 22 and This Week in Crime: Double Secret Probation

Remember when a Reston business illegally sold power amplifiers to Red China, which if it actually had oil instead of a billion workers happily filling the shelves of Wal-Mart with low-cost tchotchkes for Right-Thinking Americans, would be accused of using said power amplifiers, whatever they are, to build a nuclear weapon or weapons of mass destruction or a deadly remote-controlled blimp or something else that Will Not Stand, necessitating a 100-year war in a sandy country, but since they do and they are, we'll just slap the company here with a fine and hope they don't make our currency implode by continuing to buy our increasingly worthless debt by the wheelbarrowful?

Wow, that was a mouthful. Anyhoo, the company, Wavelab Inc. of Reston, got probation and a $15,000 fine.

WaveLab Inc. was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, after pleading guilty back in March to a single count of unlawful export of electronic components.

In court documents, the company's chief executive, Walter Zheng, admitted that WaveLab shipped hundreds of power amplifiers to China even though it knew the technology had military applications and required an export license that WaveLab lacked.

Maybe we're not the most savvy of Wall Street types, but we didn't even know companies could get probation. We thought probation was for folks who shoplifted at the Target or something, not a building with cubicles and a chain-smoking secretary out front. Does the company have to go to a seedy building once every other week and meet with a coffee-mainlining probation officer? Is it forbidden to leave the state, except for certain family events? Or is it even more insidious than that?

This Last Week in Crime: Maybe We Shouldn't Go for That Stroll in South Reston at 3:45am

For the second time in as many weeks, a Reston woman was the victim of a crime in the early morning hours.

A 32-year-old Reston woman reported being robbed while walking on South Lakes Drive. The victim was on the sidewalk near Soapstone Drive on Thursday, May 29 at 3:45 a.m. when the suspect appeared. The victim was pushed to the ground and the suspect demanded money, while implying he had a gun. He took property and cash. The suspect fled, and the victim was not injured.

The suspect was described as black, in his 20s. He was approximately 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. He was wearing a black, long sleeved sweater and dark jeans.

This, after another woman was the victim of an indecent exposure incident, this one at the comparatively decadent hour of 5:30 am. Slackers! Everyone knows that Reston is such an idyllic, sylvan place that to truly appreciate the beauty of its natural surroundings, one must rise at 2:30 am and take a brisk stroll. Alone. Under the comforting glow of Reston's abundant, bright street lighting.

Fortunately, after two robberies in Herndon and another one across the street from Reston's Fake Downtown last week, the police are on the case. So are all these crimes related?

"I wouldn't consider this a trend at this point," said 1st Lt. Andy Hill, assistant commander of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Reston District Station. "These all happened in such a short time period and in different parts of the district. Generally a rising trend occurs over a longer period of time in one general area."

Good enough for us. We'll set the alarm for 2:15 this morning.

This Week in Crime: The Usual Creepy Suspects

Nothing like a nice early-morning Sunday stroll through the greenery of Reston, topped off by a little indecent exposure.

A man exposed himself to a 37-year-old Reston woman on Sunday, May 25. The victim was walking on Olde Crafts Drive near South Lakes Drive around 5:30 a.m. A man rode up on his bicycle and offered to carry her bag. She declined and continued walking to a bus stop. The man followed and parked across the street. He exposed himself and began masturbating. The victim called police and he fled.

The suspect was described as Hispanic, between 20 to 25 years old. He was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 to 150 pounds. He wore a blue and white, striped shirt and faded blue jeans.

That almost never happens in Reston!

This Week in Crime: And that was before he walked across the street and ordered dinner at McCormick and Schmicks

A Maryland man was robbed at gunpoint across the street from Reston Town Center on Friday night.

Police said the 47-year-old victim was walking across a parking lot in the 11700 block of Stratford House Place with a friend at about 9:45 p.m. when a man approached and pointed a gun at him.

The man ordered the victim to give up his wallet, and the victim handed the robber an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

The robber walked away, and no one was injured.

The robber is described as white, 16 to 18 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He was wearing baggy jeans, a dark, multicolored, hooded jacket and a dark baseball cap.

Don't they all?

This Week in Crime: Like 'To Catch a Predator,' Only With More Earth Tones

In unrelated cases, two Reston residents have been involved in some pretty unsavory behavior.

A Reston man has pleaded guilty to charges related to his courtship of a 14-year-old girl who turned out to be Woodstock police officer Derek Good.

Matthew Chilton, 25, pleaded guilty in Shenandoah County Circuit Court on Wednesday to charges of using a computer to commit sex offenses, carnal knowledge of a 14-year-old without force and taking indecent liberties with a child under 15, according to online court records. He will return to court for sentencing June 18.

Chilton was arrested last year following a series of chats he had with Good in a Yahoo chat room.

The officer was portraying a 14-year-old girl from Woodstock as part of a covert operation to identify and apprehend child predators online, a criminal complaint states.

Chilton contacted Good and asked the officer to view his webcam.

After accepting, Good observed what appeared to be a white male masturbating, the complaint states. The chat turned sexual in nature after Good said he was a 14-year-old girl and Chilton admitted he was 24 and from Reston, it states.

"I'm from Reston." Quite a pickup line, there.

Meanwhile, another Reston resident was charged with not reporting an inappropriate cell phone photo of an underage girl.

Freedom High School Assistant Principal Ting-Yi Oei was charged with a misdemeanor by the Sheriff’s Office and placed on paid administrative leave by Loudoun County Public Schools for not following state laws requiring notification.

Oei, a 59-year-old Reston educator who joined the school in 2005, obtained the photo from a student at the South Riding school on March 14 and did not report the incident to the girl’s parents. Deputies learned of the incident about three weeks later from another source, according to a Loudoun County sheriff’s statement.

Someone call Dateline NBC.

This Week in Crime: When not to call the police: A brief but informative essay

The genius of the week:

Abel Solomon, 21, was arrested on Wednesday, April 2 at his home at 2410 Southgate Square in Reston. Solomon was cultivated as a suspect after an investigation into a robbery of a 33-year-old Fairfax man on March 11 in the 13200 block of Blueberry Lane. He was arrested without incident and taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he was charged with robbery.

Here's a tip to all you would-be armed robbers out there. If you rob someone while wielding a baseball bat, you might not want to call the police to tell them someone's been tampering with your car.

That is all.

This Last Week in Crime: Not Quite Like the Brady Bunch

Fairfax County Police are looking for a 17-year-old teenager wanted in connection with the murder of his stepmother at her Greywing Square townhome last Thursday.

Fairfax County Crime Solvers is asking for the public’s assistance in locating 17-year-old Elvin Rodriguez-Juarez. Rodriguez-Juarez is currently wanted by police for the April 3 murder of Zaida Alvarez Rodriguez. On that date, police responded at 11:30 p.m. to an unknown situation at 12056 Greywing Square in Reston and found Zaida Rodriguez, 42, unresponsive in her home. She was transported to the Reston Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead.

An investigation determined Zaida Rodriguez died as a result of trauma to her upper body. Detectives have obtained juvenile petitions charging Elvin Rodriguez-Juarez with her murder.

What exactly is an "unknown situation?" Maybe we haven't watched enough reruns of CSI: Special Akron Unpaid Parking Tickets Unit, but this doesn't sound that "unknown" to us.

Anyhoo, for a picture of Elvin and contact info, clicky the link above.

St. Patricks Day, Reston style

The word "poop" spray scrawled in green spray paint on a neighborhood sign off Center Harbor Road in North Reston.

Hey, at least the vandal(s) respected the spirit of the holiday -- and Reston's nature-friendly ethos -- in their choice of spray paint. Reston go bragh!

Reston's Vibrant Economy Part 16: When power amplifiers are banned, only criminals will have power amplifiers

A Reston company pleaded guilty to illegally selling technology with military applications to China.

WaveLab Inc. pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to unlawful export of electronic components.

In court documents, the company's chief executive, Walter Zheng, admitted that WaveLab shipped hundreds of power amplifiers to China even though it knew the technology had military applications and required an export license that WaveLab lacked.

The company has agreed to forfeit $85,000 (€55,134) _ roughly equivalent to the profits from the sales. It could be forced to pay a fine of up to $500,000 (€324,317) when it is formally sentenced on June 6. A man who answered the phone at WaveLab said everyone was too busy to talk and hung up.

Shocking. Dismaying. Downright unpatriotic. What the hell is a power amplifier, anyway?

Meanwhile, the usual suspects lost wheelbarrows full of money this last quarter: Millennium Bankshares Corp. lost $9.9 million in 2007, which sounds pretty bad until you realize that Sprint Nextel, which will soon be renamed the Kansas Down Home Cellphone, BBQ and Whatnots Corp., lost a staggering $29.45 billion--that's billion, with a "b"--in the fourth quarter alone. They should probably check all the desk drawers before decamping to Kansas. And Albert Lord, the trash-talkin' CEO of Sallie Mae, had his salary cut from $3 million to a mere $1.25 million. But Sallie Mae only lost $1.64 billion last quarter, so those performance incentives ought to be kicking in just about any time now!

This Week in Crime: We know better than to make jokes about the dedicated public servants of the U.S. Postal Service

A suspicious package was left in front of the Herndon Post Office this morning. Police blocked off the main parking lot for about 30 minutes before sounding the all clear.

This Week in Crime: Catching up

Earlier this week, a Vienna woman was charged with murdering her husband at their home on Cromwell Road, which, as the Connection points out, "is one of those narrow, hilly country roads where big houses sit on large plots of land."

Winding its way between Vienna and Reston, Crowell Road's genteel manner was shattered in the middle-of-the-night hours early Monday morning when, Fairfax County Police said, 52-year-old Marysusan Giguere shot and killed her husband, Ronald.

That's a shame, but it's really not lurid enough for, say, a Dateline NBC spot.

On the 100-foot-long driveway leading to the Giguere home, a seething diatribe, rife with sexual allegations and accusations, was hand-painted in white paint.

Known throughout the community for caring for stray or injured animals, the Gigueres have large decorative stone dogs guarding their home. Fairfax County Animal Services removed seven dogs, two cats, two horses, several goats, and many pet birds from the home on Monday.

Much better.

Meanwhile, a Fairfax County jury handed down two death sentences for a 1988 double-murder on Hunters Mill Road near Reston.

A Fairfax County jury told Alfredo R. Prieto yesterday that he should die for killing a young couple on a field near Reston nearly two decades ago. There were no witnesses to the crime, but prosecutors believe Warren H. Fulton III was on his knees when Prieto shot him in the back. Then Prieto shot Fulton's girlfriend, Rachael A. Raver, and raped her as she lay dying.

Virginia will now contend with California to see which would be the first to get Prieto, 42, to the death chamber. In 1992, Prieto was convicted of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl in Ontario, Calif., but his appeals could stretch nearly 10 more years. In Virginia, they could be exhausted in five.

The families of Fulton and Raver were in the courtroom yesterday to hear, at long last, the jury give its verdict: two death sentences. The victims were just 22 when their bodies were discovered Dec. 6, 1988, in a vacant lot along Hunter Mill Road.

And finally, should we be concerned about this comment from an earlier post about the fun New Year's eve fracas?

Its all about friendship. And if he had real friends, they wouldn't have snitched. ITS NOT OVER.

This Week in Crime: Good thinking!

A Reston woman was arrested after entering D.C. Police headquarters and attempting to take a guard's gun:

Cynthia Nixon, 40, entered the building at 300 Indiana Ave. NW about 3:45 p.m. and pulled out a handgun, police said. She approached a private security officer who was guarding the door, demanding, "Give me your gun," according to charging papers filed yesterday.

Nixon then pointed her handgun at the guard and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not fire, according to the charging documents.

The charging papers quoted Nixon as telling police that her plan was to "rob a police officer of his weapon."

Well, at least she went to the right place.

This Week in Crime: Because Everyone Loves New Year's Parties

Reston's traditional New Year's Eve festivities, which culminated in a mob attack and stabbing, have finally yielded a second arrest.

Calvin C. Wallace, who identified himself as a member of the Ghost Town Crips gang, according to Fairfax Count Circuit Court documents from Feb. 14, 2008, was arrested for malicious wounding and gang participation for an incident on New Year's 2008.

So after wondering why 10 or 15 people might be hanging around in a parking lot in the middle of the night for nearly two months, we've finally figured out it was gang related. Turns out gang members are only human -- they want to ring in the New Year, too!

Police investigation revealed that the driver, rear passenger, and a female passenger had driven to Scotch Bonnet Court after attending a party in Loudoun County.

Investigation revealed that the residence of the party was the home of a gang member of the Ghost Town Crips," according to court documents. "Several people attending the party were identified. One of these individuals was a male named Calvin C. Wallace."

Another person advised police that Wallace, also known as "Kain," lives in the Fairview Apartments in Reston and was the suspect, according to search warrants.

The boyfriend -- a juvenile -- and a group of 10 to 15 men surrounded the victims' vehicle, according to Fairfax Police Department press releases. "I'm going to teach this man a lesson," the juvenile said, according to search warrants.

The juvenile assaulted the driver with his fists, according to search warrants filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court. A second individual assaulted the rear passenger, when the rear passenger attempted to help the driver. The second individual produced a large buck knife and stabbed the rear passenger several times in his back. As the victim driver drove away, both suspects fell out of the car and onto the ground, according to search warrants.

"A large amount of blood was found inside the victim's vehicle," according to search warrants.

To be fair, watching Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark always puts us into a rage, too. But we'll try stick to noisemakers and bad champagne.

This Week in Crime: From Sordid to Sad

Seven people have been arrested in connection with a series of six burglaries that took place in Reston from Dec. 23-Jan. 16.

Jerome Sheppard, 21, of Manassas was charged with three counts of burglary and two counts of grand larceny. Jesse Terry, 18, of Reston, was charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of grand larceny. Jivon Bryant, 22, of Herndon, was charged with one count of burglary. Michael Green, 22, Jose Veloso, 22, and Nechelle Wooten, 22, all of Reston, were each charged with one count of receiving stolen firearms. One juvenile was charged with two counts of burglary.

Personal property including electronics, computer equipment and guns were stolen from the homes. This was an apparent organized, coordinated effort on the part of all suspects involved.

Or maybe it just seems impressively organized because this time the perps didn't just waltz into a series of open, unlocked garages.

Another Reston man pleaded guilty to robbing a strip club in Baltimore.

Alexander Reiff, of Reston, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with all but eight years suspended. He pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery and using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence.

Police said Reiff and Gregory Eaton Jr., 29, of Hyattsville, walked into Fantasies Nightclub in the 5500 block of Pennington Ave. shortly before the 2 a.m. closing on April 5.

They were armed with a Ruger 9 mm handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun, announced a robbery and ordered about 20 patrons and employees to the floor, prosecutors said. Eaton then discharged the shotgun into the ceiling, police said.

Two off-duty city police officers then shot Reiff and Eaton, police said. Eaton died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center; Reiff, who prosecutors said was wearing body armor, survived.

And finally, a former Herndon Middle School teacher pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquincy of a minor.

Richard Chad Forsythe, a former Herndon Middle School teacher, pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor on Monday, Jan. 28. Forsythe, 38 of Sterling, was sentenced to 12 months in jail during a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

After learning of Forsythe's relationship and "inappropriate contact" with a 16-year-old Reston girl, Fairfax County police arrested Forsythe for custodial indecent liberties in January 2007, according to police reports.

Forsythe, who remains free on bond, has been suspended without pay from the school system since his original arrest in January 2007.

We should hope so.

This Week in Crime: Internal Affairs

Fairfax County Police's resource officer at Herndon Middle School was arrested for embezzlement. Lest that sound like someone was taking a few extra tater tots while patrolling the cafeteria lunch line, Fairfax County wants you to know that Mark Ours was actually allegedly tweaking his timesheet.

A press release said the arrest came after an investigation into alleged false reporting of hours on attendance records. Ours, who has been assigned to the Reston District Station, was charged at police headquarters and transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Public Information Officer Eddy Azcarate said the charges mean a likely falsification of time cards that are submitted to the county for payment.

“This has been a fairly long investigation,” he said. “Any person at any business, any job or any place may take five minutes here and there, this obviously was more,” he said, though the department will not release the amount of embezzlement as it is an ongoing investigation.

The last time a Fairfax County police officer was arrested was in December 2006, for a DWI.

Awkward!

This Week in Crime: And that was before she saw how much martinis cost at McCormicks & Schmicks

An Ashburn woman was robbed in the Hyatt hotel parking garage Thursday night.

The robbery took place shortly after midnight on the second level of the Hyatt Hotel parking garage located at 1800 Presidents Street, police said.

Investigators said the victim was at her car when she was approached from behind by a man who pointed a gun at her and demanded money.

The woman handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and was not injured, police said.

The robber fled on foot and was seen leaving the garage a short time later with two other men, investigators said. The three men are described as black, in their late 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 185 pounds. They all wore dark clothing.

That same night, the Exxon on Sunrise Valley Drive was robbed.

A 36-year-old employee of the Exxon gas station located at 11854 Sunrise Valley Drive was robbed on Thursday, Jan. 17, shortly before 1 a.m. Two men went immediately behind the counter where the employee was standing, implied a weapon and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. The victim was not injured and the suspects fled out the front door.

One suspect was white, in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and approximately 165 pounds. He wore all black clothing. The second suspect was black, also in his 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches, weighing approximately 150 pounds. He also wore dark clothing and a black mask covering his face.

Thursday nights: For Reston criminals, they must be the new Saturday.