News of crime and punishment across Fairfax County.
IMPROPERLY DISCARDED ASHES CAUSE HOUSE FIRE: The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department on Feb. 26 at 8:45 p.m. dispatched units to a reported house fire in the 1500 block of Snughill Court in the Wolf Trap area north of Vienna.
Arriving units saw fire coming from the rear of the two-story, split-level, single-family home. Crews worked quickly to bring the fire under control. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported.
Five occupants were home at the time of the fire. One occupant discovered the fire when he looked out a window and saw the back of the house on fire.
He alerted the other occupants, and all evacuated the house before fire crews arrived. Working smoke alarms were present in the home and sounded after the fire was discovered.
Fire investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started on the house’s rear deck. The fire was caused by improperly discarded ashes from an outdoor fire pit.
Five occupants were displaced because of the fire, but they declined assistance offered by the Red Cross. The blaze caused about $187,500 worth of damage, officials said.
Fire and Rescue Department officials remind residents to be cautious and keep safety in mind when handling ashes from fireplaces, wood stoves and fire pits.
VIENNA POLICE ARREST MARYLAND MAN ON ARLINGTON WARRANT, DRUG CHARGE: Vienna police dispatched officers to Wilmar Place and Lawyers Road, N.W., on March 1 at 7:24 a.m. after receiving a report about a suspicious person.
The officers located a man and determined there was an active warrant for him in Arlington County.
While placing the man under arrest, police found he was in possession of controlled substances, officials said.
Police arrested the 26-year-old Silver Spring, Md., man and took him to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where authorities served him with the felony warrant from Arlington charging him with threatening death or bodily injury in writing.
Authorities also charged him with felony possession of a Schedule I narcotic.
VIENNA POLICE HELP RESOLVE CASE INVOLVING UNAUTHORIZED UBER USAGE: A juvenile resident living in the 800 block of Ninovan Road, S.E., told Vienna police on Feb. 20 at 1:20 a.m. that he had given a friend access to his Uber account for a single use in September 2021 and requested that she immediately delete the information afterward. The Uber account is linked to his mother’s credit card, police said.
The friend has continued to use the Uber account, placing unauthorized charges on his mother’s credit card, the complainant said.
The mother advised she would not pursue charges against the other juvenile if the girl deleted the account. Police notified the mother of the other juvenile was notified and she agreed to remove the account information from their daughter’s phone.
DRIVER WITH DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY REFUSES TO SIGN DRUNK-DRIVING SUMMONS: A Vienna police officer on Feb. 25 at 1:53 a.m. observed a driver commit a traffic violation in the 2100 block of Chain Bridge Road and initiated a traffic stop.
Upon interacting with the driver, the officer detected signs of impairment. The driver failed to complete a series of field-sobriety tests, police said.
The officer issued a summons to the man charging him with driving while intoxicated and offered to call an Uber for him and his passenger. The man refused to sign the summons and stated he and the passenger would walk home.
After contacting the Office of Foreign Missions, the officer determined that the driver had full diplomatic immunity.
MOTORIST FOUND ASLEEP IN VIENNA INTERSECTION CHARGED WITH DRUNK DRIVING: A Vienna police officer on Feb. 25 at 10:47 p.m. observed a vehicle on Talahi Road at the stop sign for Park Street, S.E. The driver appeared to be unconscious, police said.
While the officer was attempting to wake the driver, the vehicle began to roll forward. The officer awakened the driver and got him to stop the vehicle.
Upon interacting with the driver, the officer detected signs of impairment. Police arrested the driver after he failed to complete a series of field-sobriety tests.
Police took the 32-year-old Burke man to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where authorities charged him with driving while intoxicated.
POLICE: AFTER TRYING TO EXCHANGE VAPE PEN, VIENNA CUSTOMER STEALS ONE: A man came into Tobacco King, 332 Maple Ave., W., on March 1 at 12:18 p.m. and attempted to exchange a vape pen, Vienna police said.
An employee advised the man that the store did not accept returns, and the man requested to purchase a new vape pen.
The employee retrieved a new vape pen and the man took it and fled the store without paying, police said.
VIENNA MAN CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING, DISORDERLY CONDUCT AFTER PARK INCIDENT: A Vienna Parks and Recreation Department employee told Vienna police on March 2 at 10 a.m. that a man who previously had been banned from town-government property was at the park harassing other town employees.
Police advised the employees of the warrant process, in case they wished to pursue charges, and they went with an officer to the magistrate’s office, where they obtained two summonses for the man.
Police on March 3 served the 60-year-old Vienna man with summonses charging him with trespassing and disorderly conduct. Police released the man on his signature.
VIENNA RESTAURANT REPORTS YET ANOTHER ATTEMPTED CREDIT-CARD FRAUD: An employee at Panera Bread, 136 Maple Ave., W., told Vienna police on March 2 at 10:45 a.m. that someone used fraudulent credit-card information to purchase a large order.
The employee canceled the order before the payment was completed.
Vienna police in February investigated two similar fraud incidents at the same restaurant.