<sh>Dillard Earns Education Award
<bt>The American School Counselor Association selected Del. James H. Dillard (R-41st) as 2003 Legislator of the Year. The Association presents the award each year to the one legislator in the nation who best responds to children's needs for school counseling services. The organization recognized Dillard for his leadership in sponsoring Virginia House Bill 1136 which restored the requirement for counselors in elementary schools. Dillard accepted the award during a ceremony on April 2, on the floor of the House of Delegates.
<sh>Matricardi's License Suspended
<bt>On April 3, the Virginia State Bar summarily suspended Edmund Arthur Matricardi III's license to practice law. On April 1, Matricardi entered a plea of guilty to charges of interception of a wire communication in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2511 (1)(a). Matricardi obtained the dial-in telephone number and participation code that allowed access to a March 22 Joint Democratic Caucus conference call to which he was not invited. Matricardi used this telephone number to dial into the conference call, did not disclose his presence on the line, and tape recorded the call for approximately two and a half hours. The board ordered Matricardi to appear on April 25 to determine whether revocation or further suspension of his license is appropriate.
Edmund Arthur Matricardi III's address of record is Matricardi & Moylan, on Backlick Road, Springfield.
<sh>Shots Fired at Moving Car
<bt>On April 5, just before 2 a.m., an altercation erupted between several patrons at the Paradiso Restaurant in Franconia. The men went into the parking lot of the business, and a Waldorf, Md. man, 20, crossed Franconia Road to retrieve his car from the parking lot of the Franconia District Police Station.
As the Maryland man drove westbound on Franconia Road, two rounds were fired at his moving car from the area of the restaurant. The victim sped from the scene, then returned moments later. Officers who were clearing the crowd from the parking lot heard the commotion, and took the armed man into custody without further incident.
Upon investigation, police found that one round struck the victim's car, shattering the rear window. The round then traveled through the car to the driver's side door post, to the windshield, cracking it, then traveled down the windshield to the dashboard and came to rest on the console. Although the victim was showered with glass, he received no serious injuries.
The suspect was identified as Shawn O. Woodson, 26, of Fairground Road in Maidens, Va. He was charged with attempted malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Woodson was held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
<sh>Fugitives Apprehended
<bt>On April 7 at 4:30 p.m., detectives from Prince Georges County, Md., were in Fairfax County following a gray Toyota Camry. The detectives observed two Fairfax County Police Officers, and stopped to advise them that the passenger in the car was wanted for murder in their jurisdiction.
As the officers approached the car, the driver sped off and struck the detectives' undercover vehicle in an attempt to escape. The driver turned into a parking lot in the area of Little River Turnpike and Markham Street. The passenger bailed out and ran away. Officers located the passenger in the produce section of a nearby Safeway store. He was identified as Johnny Edward Scott, 24, of Dewberry Street in Glenn Dale, Md. He was taken into custody and charged with being a fugitive from justice.
Scott's girlfriend, Kianna Turner, 25, of Huston Place in the Herndon area, who was the driver of the car, was also taken into custody and charged with being a fugitive from justice. An acquaintance of Turner took charge of her 1-month-old son, who was in the car during the incident.
<sh>Man Robbed in Car
<bt>A 32-year-old Annandale area man was sitting in his car on April 4, at 6:30 a.m., preparing to go to work. Four people approached him and one opened the driver's side door and pointed a handgun at him. Two of the suspects then pulled the victim from the car and demanded his wallet.
The victim stated he did not know where his wallet was, and a third suspect looked through the car and took his wallet, a cellular telephone and his keys. All four then fled west on Commons Drive.
Three of the suspects were described as black males, in their 20s, five feet nine inches tall and each weighing 150 pounds. Each wore dark clothing and a black mask. The fourth suspect was described as a black female, also in her 20s, five feet seven inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. The victim waited three and a half hours to incident, because he drove to work then returned home to call police.
<sh>Correction
<bt>The March 27 issue of the Burke Connection reported that both Bradley Burgess and John P. Kelley won first place in the "speed" category at the Cub Scout Pack 1348 Pinewood Derby. In actuality, Burgess won in the "speed" category and Kelley won in "show."