December 15, 2020 at 3:30pm
A man accused of burglarizing homes in the Penrose neighborhood, and in one instance touching a woman inappropriately during a break-in, has been arrested.
The arrest happened around 1 a.m. this morning in the Penrose neighborhood. Police say they were staking out the area around Friday’s sexual battery incident, on the 2500 block of Arlington Blvd, when officers “observed the suspect acting suspiciously as he entered the backyard of residences.”
“While additional units responded to assist with the investigation, the suspect entered his vehicle and attempted to flee the scene,” Arlington County Police said in a press release Tuesday afternoon. “A traffic stop was initiated, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. During a canvas of the scene, officers located several window screens which had been cut and removed from the frames to include at the address of the original incident.”
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating an Armed Robbery and Attempted Malicious Wounding in the Fairlington neighborhood that took place on the evening of Dec. 5, 2020.
At approximately 9:48 p.m., police were dispatched to the 2800 block of S. Buchanan Street for the report of an armed robbery. The investigation revealed the female victim and two unknown male suspects were meeting at the location for the pre-arranged sale of narcotics. Suspect One approached the victim and engaged her in conversation. Suspect Two then approached, knocked her to the ground, brandished a firearm and demanded cash before stealing her purse. The suspects fled the scene on foot and fired a single shot in the direction of the victim. She was not injured. A perimeter was established by responding officers and a canvas of the area returned with negative results.
Michael F. Thomson, arrested
The Arlington County Police Department’s Cold Case Unit is announced the arrest of a suspect in a cold case rape series. Michael F. Thomson, 63, of Montross, Va., was arrested and charged with two counts of the following charges: Rape, Abduction with the Intent to Defile, Forcible Sodomy and Use/Display of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony. Additional charges are anticipated. He is being held in the Arlington County Detention Facility without bond.
Between January and December 1991, Arlington County Police investigated multiple reports of rapes and attempted rapes involving female victims walking from the East Falls Church Metro Station. In each reported incident, the victims were approached by an unknown male who displayed a firearm. Three cases were linked by DNA evidence with a fourth case being investigated as part of the series due to similarities with the other cases.
December 11, 2020 at 9:45am
A man climbed into a woman’s home via a window, walked into her bedroom and touched her inappropriately last night, police say.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. on the 2500 block of Arlington Blvd, in Arlington’s Penrose neighborhood.
The Fairfax County Police helicopter was brought in to search for the suspect, who fled after the woman screamed. An Arlington Alert was sent to residents regarding the police activity.
The suspect remains at large. More below, from an Arlington County Police Department press release.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating a sexual battery which occurred during a residential burglary in the Penrose Neighborhood.