The suspect is described as white with a stocky build. He was in his 20’s, around 6 feet tall, had sandy blonde hair, and was unshaven. He wore an olive green jacket, a brownish green t-shirt, and dark pants.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477

Detectives have identified a suspect in connection with the carjacking incident that took place in the Tyson’s Corner area on Saturday, November 19. Police obtained an arrest warrant on Monday, November 21 for Stephanie Lynn Schwab, 26, of the Manassas area for the charge of carjacking.

Schwab is also wanted by Prince William County Police for a bank robbery that took place on Friday, November 18 in that jurisdiction. Police ask that the public continue to be on the lookout for Schwab, and the stolen 2003 silver Acura, Virginia tag XEK8095.

The Good Samaritan had her car stolen at knife-point around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, November 19. A 59- year-old Fairfax woman was approached in the Tyson’s Corner II parking lot of Neiman Marcus by a woman who claimed she was out of gas and needed a ride to a station.

The victim invited the woman into her vehicle but as she drove toward Route 123 the suspect produced a knife and told the driver to get out of the vehicle. The victim was left at the intersection of Old Courthouse Road and Route 123.
There were no injuries and police are continuing to investigate.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477

The suspects entered the residences through unlocked doors and/or kicked in doors secured with double deadbolt locks.  The suspects entered residences with and without alarms systems.  It appears that in a few cases the subjects cased the neighborhoods looking for an empty residence, where no one was home at the time of the incident.  In one Arlington case the residents were home at the time of the burglary.

The items stolen in these burglaries include expensive electronics such as laptops and iPods, a handgun, passport, bank checks and expensive jewelry.

Arlington County, the City of Falls Church, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police and are working together on this investigation.  Extra resources have been deployed into the neighborhoods for surveillance and to hopefully catch the suspects before they can strike again.

Residents are reminded to lock doors and windows at all times (vehicles included) and make sure home alarm systems are in proper working order and activated.   Anyone with information concerning these burglaries or anyone seeing anything or anyone suspicious is asked to immediately contact the City of Falls Church Police Emergency Communications Center at 703-241-5050 or call 911 if it’s an emergency (example: burglary in progress).

Speaking about Virginia Wine Month, Governor McDonnell stated, “There has never been a better time for Virginia wine.  This year, Virginia wine sales reached an all-time high.  And there’s no better time to truly experience Virginia wines and to visit our wineries than the fall.  As huge fans and supporters of the Virginia wines, the First Lady and I encourage all Virginians to celebrate Virginia Wine Month by visiting our wineries, enjoying local cuisine, taking in the beautiful Virginia landscape and stopping by some of our amazing historical landmarks. Virginia wine means Virginia jobs.”

To honor Virginia Wine Month, the Virginia Wine Board and Virginia Tourism Corporation are sponsoring “Discover Your Local Crush” as the Virginia Wine Month theme, tempting travelers to visit and taste the best of Virginia wines at wineries and festivals statewide.  From the coastal serenity of the Eastern Shore to the majestic splendor of the Blue Ridge Mountains, each wine region provides travelers with one-of-a-kind wine experiences.  Virginia is also home to six American Viticultural Areas (AVA), a grape growing region that is defined by its geographic features, which affect the type and style of wine it produces.

“With wineries in every region of the state, Virginia serves as a perfect destination for oenophiles and travel enthusiasts,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd P. Haymore.  “In addition, hundreds of restaurants and retailers are participating in the Virginia Wine Month activities.  So, there are many different ways Virginia consumers can ‘Discover Your Local Crush’ throughout the month of October.”

Virginia wines can be purchased at wineries and more than 500 restaurants and wine shops highlighting Virginia wines during the month-long promotion.  Check http://www.virginiawine.org/october-wine-month for information on where to find Virginia Wine Month events, festivals, and participating restaurants and wine shops.

Sales of Virginia wine reached an all-time high in fiscal year 2011 with more than 462,000 cases sold during the fiscal year.  This figure marked a sales increase of more than 11% over the previous fiscal year.  Virginia is now the nation’s fifth largest wine producer and seventh largest wine grape producer.  According to the most recent economic impact study, the Virginia wine industry employs approximately 3,000 people and contributes almost $350 million to the Virginia economy on an annual basis.  The study reflected the impact of 120 wineries in 2005; today, there are nearly 200 farm wineries in the state.  A new economic impact study is planned for fiscal year 2012.

The operation was conducted using two teams, each consisting of one plain-clothed officer, one uniformed officer, and one cadet.
Underage possession of alcohol continues to be a concern to the Fairfax County Police Department. For more information on underage drinking and prevention programs, log on and learn more about the Unified Prevention Coalition at http://www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org/.

The dog, known as “J.R.”, had fallen into a sink hole area near a drainage pipe opening in the 500 block of Walker Street, SW. He had become trapped and unable to free himself. A neighbor located the dog and called police.

Officers called for assistance from the Town of Vienna Parks and Recreation Department and together were able to free “J.R.” After removing surrounding dirt while protecting “J.R.” from the work tools, employees were able to lift and assist him out of the hole.

J.R. was then placed on a dog stretcher and transported to the HOPE Center for treatment.

Police identified the suspects and located them in an apartment in the 7400 block of Lee Highway around 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 14. Jasmine Nadine Vanderplas a.k.a. “Thundershield”, 30 and Tae Won Kang, 29 of no fixed addresses, were both charged with robbery and abduction. They were transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

A new section of Battlefield Parkway, extending from Fort Evans Road to Edwards Ferry Road, is currently under construction by the Town. This section of Battlefield Parkway is one of two remaining uncompleted segments of the four-lane divided highway that will eventually form an outer loop around the east side of Leesburg. Construction on this section of Battlefield Parkway began in the fall of 2008 with utility relocation and grading work. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The purpose of the temporary road closure is to accelerate the construction schedule for two lanes of the new roadway segment. The accelerated schedule will allow those two lanes of Battlefield Parkway, including the full Edwards Ferry Road intersection, to be open to traffic prior to the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

“By closing the entire intersection to traffic during this nine-week period, our contractors can work more efficiently,” explained Renée LaFollette, Deputy Director of Capital Projects Management. “Significant re-grading work is necessary, as well as the installation of a new traffic signal. Even if we did keep the intersection open, there would be major traffic disruptions and delays. Ultimately, we felt it was better to close the whole intersection for nine weeks, than to have the intersection be a construction zone until the end of the year.”

According to Town Manager John Wells, the ability to open two lanes of Battlefield Parkway – one lane in each direction – by the time that Loudoun County Public Schools reopen in August 2011 was the deciding factor for the Council to temporarily close Edwards Ferry Road.

“Town Council members are very concerned about the impact of the road closure on both area residents and the businesses on Edwards Ferry Road,” commented Wells. “But the public input we received was overwhelmingly in support of the temporary road closure. The benefits to the public in terms of improving the safety of the intersection, along with the accelerated opening of two lanes, really outweighed the temporary inconvenience of closing the road.”

The full four-lane Battlefield Parkway segment, from Fort Evans Road to Edwards Ferry Road, is expected to be completed in December 2011. Once this section of Battlefield Parkway is open to traffic, Town officials anticipate that the new alternate north-south route will alleviate traffic congestion on the Route 15 Bypass. Completion of this Battlefield Parkway segment will leave the section from Evergreen Mill Road to South King Street as the only uncompleted segment. The Town’s newly approved 2012-2017 Capital Improvements Program includes funding for design and construction of two lanes from Evergreen Mill to South King Street, with construction scheduled for late 2011/early 2012. Recently, the Virginia Department of Transportation included funding for construction of the final two lanes of this section of Battlefield Parkway is its preliminary Six-Year Plan.

For more information about the Battlefield Parkway capital improvement project, please visit the project webpage at www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=724.

If you have any information regarding this event, contact the Leesburg Police Department at 703-771-4500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can use the Leesburg Police Department Crime Line at 703-443-TIPS

Gregory Allen Madden, 21, of Fredericksburg, was taken into custody on February 16 and served with warrants charging him with one count of burglary (Section 18.2-89 of the Code of Virginia) and one count of grand larceny (Section 18.2-95). Madden was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he was held without bond.

Ricardo Noel Marquina Guzman, 20, of 4150 Addison Road, Fairfax was arrested on February 14 in connection with this case for one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny. Marquina Guzman was also held without bond.

via Fairfax News.

UPDATE: The video of the assault in Shockoe Bottom has reappeared on line here:

Read full story via Midlothian Va News for Chesterfield County.

Mrs. Obama thanked and congratulated the award winners and said, “But while some of your work may be national in scope, ultimately your most powerful impact is local. Each of you is an integral part of your community. Each of you strives every day to meet the needs of the people who walk through your doors. And that’s particularly true in times of challenge and crisis, when many of you offer vital services, stepping up to be there for folks when they need you the most.” View Mrs. Obama’s full remarks.

IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel, said, “The winners are making a difference by asking the right questions and tailoring solutions to enrich the lives of their community members. We honor their contributions to delight, surprise, inform and educate.”

Winners of the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service are:

1. Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, Fishers, IN

2. Explora, Albuquerque, NM

3. Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA

4. Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS

5. Nashville Public Library, Nashville, TN

6. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY

7. Patchogue-Medford Library, Patchogue, NY

8. Peter White Public Library, Marquette, MI

9. Rangeview Library District and Anythink Libraries, Adams County, CO

10. West Bloomfield Township Public Library, West Bloomfield Township, MI

The History Channel, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and Hollinger/Metal Edge, Inc. Archival Storage Material, generously supported the National Medals celebration.

Representatives from the award-winning museums and libraries attended the ceremony. Because the medal honors these institutions for outstanding service to their communities, each of the ten directors accepted the award along with a community member who had been personally affected by the museum or library. The winners will also receive a $10,000 award to continue the good work they are doing in their communities, and a visit from StoryCorps.

via IMLS

Benjamin L. Sebastian, 32, of Inwood, West Virginia was apprehended on Saturday, December 11, 2010 in West Virginia and is being held at the Eastern Regional Jail on charges stemming from two more bank robberies in Winchester, Virginia. He is also charged in Fairfax County with two counts of robbery and two counts of use of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with two more bank robberies.

In November, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Winchester Police Department, the Fairfax Police Department and the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Violent Crimes Task Forces began looking into the possibility that several bank robberies in Northern Virginia were linked. A break in the cases came last week when the Winchester Police Department obtained a description of a vehicle that was possibly used by the suspect in one of their robberies. The information was relayed to area law enforcement. An off-duty Loudoun County Sheriff’s Deputy observed the vehicle in West Virginia and contacted a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigator. The information ultimately led to Sebastian’s arrest.

In Loudoun County, Sebastian is accused of the October 6th robbery of the Bank of America in the Regal Plaza and the November 20th robbery of the Wachovia Bank in the Community Plaza. Warrants were obtained on December 15, 2010 for entering a bank with the intent of committing a robbery (two counts), robbery (two counts) and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony (two counts).

via West Virginia Man Faces Charges in Connection with Two Sterling Bank Robberies – Loudoun News.

via Wachovia Bank in Sterling Robbed Saturday Morning – Loudoun News.

The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of 66,081 ‘civilians’; 23,984 ‘enemy’ (those labeled as insurgents); 15,196 ‘host nation’ (Iraqi government forces) and 3,771 ‘friendly’ (coalition forces). The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths.That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six year period. For comparison, the ‘Afghan War Diaries’, previously released by WikiLeaks, covering the same period, detail the deaths of some 20,000 people. Iraq during the same period, was five times as lethal with equivallent population size.

Apparently they had the same issue yesterday for a few hours: API latency issues Sep 22, 2010 1:40pm that forced system wide outages.

Bottom line, it’s the second day of autumn go outside and enjoy the weather. Maybe FAcebook will come back some day. Or maybe not…

Photos by Aaron Tuell, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau

trip,” says Murphy. “We were ten minutes from pulling up and heading back when the big one hit. It took about an hour and a half to get him in. It was an incredible experience.” Completing the party, Andy Skovrinskie, Dave Shingle and Bryan Shingle drove down from PA and hired Captain Barry Daniels of The Hooker to take them out on Thursday, September 16th upon learning about the hundreds of billfish being caught in recent weeks along the OBX. “I’ve been fishing out of here for over ten years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” reports Daniels.

In congratulating the VTC, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said, “Tourism is one of Virginia’s most powerful industries, generating billions in revenue for our economy. Our wine industry is a key part of what attracts visitors to this state. I am proud of the innovative efforts of our state tourism office to find new ways to market Virginia and keep tourism strong throughout the Commonwealth.”

The Virginia Tourism Corporation organized Vintage Tweets in September of 2009 in Arlington, Virginia to kick off October Virginia Wine Month. Vintage Tweets was the first ever Virginia wine tweetup. The state tourism agency used the social media network Twitter to target media, bloggers and consumers who are passionate about wine travel, live in and around Washington, D.C., and had significant number of Twitter followers. The Virginia Tourism Corporation used Twitter to invite 40 of those consumers to a wine reception, featuring six different wineries from across the state. The guests tweeted about their wine tastings and also took part in Virginia Wine Travel Twitter trivia. In total, Vintage Tweets was able to reach over 43,000 consumers in just 24 hours, providing key facts and travel ideas to potential visitors from across the country.

Read full story via  Clarke Daily News.

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today announced the appointment of J. Randall Minchew, to Deputy Counselor and Advisor to the Governor.

J. Randall (“Randy”) Minchew is presently the Managing Shareholder of the Loudoun County Office of Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley, Emrich, and Walsh, PC, where he was named Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Loudoun County Office in Leesburg in 1998. After graduating from the Washington & Lee University School of Law, where he served as an editor on the law review, Minchew served as personal law clerk to Justice A. Christian Compton on the Supreme Court of Virginia. After completing his clerkship, Minchew began the private practice of law with Hazel & Thomas, PC.

Minchew has also served his community in many capacities as President of the Loudoun Bar Association, Member of the Board of Directors of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission, and as Chairman of the Loudoun County Rural Economic Development Task Force that produced in 1998 a nationally-recognized plan for rural economic development utilizing innovative public policy proposals to protect open space while fostering land uses that yield stronger economic returns for farmers and rural land owners. He has also helped his community by serving as Chairman of the Loudoun County Boy Scouts, Scoutmaster of Leesburg Troop 998, and as one of twelve Scoutmasters from the National Capital Area Council to the 2010 National Scout Jamboree held last month at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

Minchew graduated from Langley High School in McLean in 1976 and then earned a Bachelor’s degree cum laude in Public Policy Studies and Economics from Duke University in 1980, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Washington & Lee University in 1984. He is also a licensed Lay Eucharistic Minister with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and earned a Diploma in Theological Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary earlier this year. Minchew lives in Leesburg with his wife Teresa and son Jack.

via Loudoun News

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; Loudoun County Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson, and Chiefs Charlie Deane and Joseph Price of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Portocarrero pled guilty on March 9, 2010, to aiding and abetting attempted murder and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. According to court documents, on the evening of Sept. 13, 2008, Portocarrero and two other MS-13 members were traveling in defendant’s vehicle around Sterling, Va, when one of the passengers observed a suspected rival gang member walking down a nearby street.  After seeing the suspected rival, Portocarrero pulled his vehicle over.  His two passengers exited the vehicle and made it clear that they were going to pursue and attack the suspected rival.  Portocarrero drove his vehicle down the street and heard the report of multiple gun shots followed by the sirens of police and emergency vehicles.  Portocarrero picked up one of the MS-13 members and as that individual was getting into the vehicle, he placed a pistol in his pants.  Portocarrero drove the MS-13 member to an overpass where the spent ammunition casings were discarded.

The suspected rival gang member and his pregnant female companion suffered multiple gunshot wounds, received emergency medical treatment, and survived.

On June 11, another MS-13 member, Jose Enrique Rivas Ayala, also known as “Pequeno,” 26, of Sterling, Va., was sentenced today to 150 months in prison for driving MS-13 members to a shooting in Reston, Va.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, and the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia Haynes and Zachary Terwilliger prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.