Bank Robbery Suspect Sought
Investigators have released two surveillance video stills of a suspect in a larceny by false pretenses case that took place in September.
According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect entered the Wachovia Bank on Catoctin Circle in Leesburg Sept. 15 and handed the teller money and asked for different denominations in return. He did this several times, confusing the teller and stealing $1,500.
The same subject is suspected of having committed the same offense at other banks in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Those with information about the identity of this suspect are asked to contact Investigator Suess of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475.
To remain anonymous, call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. If the tip leads to an arrest and indictment in this case, a cash reward of up to $1,000 may be given.
Home Invasion
A Thanksgiving morning burglary has Sheriff's Investigators searching for a brazen subject who entered
an Ashburn home while the residents slept inside.
Shortly before 6 a.m., a 6-year-old child screamed from his bedroom when he allegedly saw an unknown subject in his room in their residence on Sperrin Court. The parents initially thought their son had a bad dream until later that morning when they discovered mud on the floor in his bedroom and their phone line had been cut.
Deputies canvassed the neighborhood of Sperrin Court and discovered several of the neighborhood screens had been cut including a home along the cross street of Malin Court. Another home on Malin Court was discovered to have the screen of their sliding glass door cut on Nov. 28.
The subject was only able to gain entry to the one home and did not take anything from the residence during the burglary. The subject was described as wearing all black and was said to have been wearing a mask.
If you have any information about the identity of this suspect you are asked to contact Investigator Weckenman of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475.
If you would like to remain anonymous please call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. If your tip leads to an arrest and indictment in this case you could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000.
Don’t Become a Victim
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office reminds everyone to take extra precautions during the holidays to avoid theft.
“A lot of vehicles are crimes of opportunity,” spokesman Kraig Troxell said last week. “If you leave your car open or leave an expensive item in plain view, it is going to increase your chances of becoming a victim.”
A shopper who leaves his or her holiday packages in the front seat of the car is inviting trouble, he said. “Even if your car is locked and you leave something nice on the front seat, they’re going to do what they can to get into the car.”
Troxell warned against the tendency after the holidays to leave all of the gift boxes at the curb. A burglar will see “the Johnsons got a new DVD, a 32-inch TV, a video game system,” he said. “We suggest you put them in the green trash bags or break them down.”
Troxell said it is not a good idea to keep any items of value in open view any time of the year. “We might believe our neighborhoods are the safest places in the world,” he said. “It is not exactly a career criminal who steals.”
Sheriff's Office Gets New Uniforms
After almost 40 years of sporting the traditional dark brown shirt and tan pants, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is changing its look, choosing to wear a more practical uniform.
Deputies will now wear a silver/tan shirt and either a brown trouser cargo pant with cargo pockets or a brown dress pant. The dress pant is a stock brown pant with a 1 inch black stripe down the side. Deputies assigned to Traffic, K9, and Crime Scene Investigations have worn the brown cargo pants for a number of years. Since the pants were more comfortable, durable and less costly, a decision was made to issue these pants to all line staff.
The total cost per deputy has been reduced to $484.80 as compared to the $529.80 paid last year.
Coyle Leaves County Planning
After guiding most of the major long-range planning initiatives of the Loudoun County Government over the past decade, Sarah Coyle is leaving to focus on her own community of Round Hill, where she will serve as Town Planner and Zoning Administrator.
Coyle has been the project manager for a many high profile planning efforts in the county, including the Toll Road Plan, the Countywide Retail Policy Plan Amendment, the Dulles South Density Review and the Revised General Plan and Countywide Transportation Plan.
Coyle also played a significant role in other projects, including the development of the Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance , the Dulles Corridor Rail Study, the Planned Development-Special Activities Area, and the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Revision and Remapping Project.
Most recently, Coyle's division has been responsible for the
preparation and processing of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, the Heritage Resources Plan, revisions to the Hamilton and Purcellville Plans as well as this year's Comprehensive Plan Amendments dealing with a variety of issues, including the River Stream Corridor Overlay District (RSCOD), utilities in the Transition Area, the Western Transportation Corridor, health care facilities, and adult retirement housing.
Coyle has also served as a Board of Supervisors' appointee on the Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board since its inception in 1993. She has also played a key role on the internal Business Improvement Group team and the Capital Facilities Site Acquisition team.
Coyle began working as a planner for Loudoun County in September 1989. She was promoted to program manager for the Community Planning Division in 1996 and was named division manager in 2000.
Two-Vehicle Accident
A two vehicle accident Friday, Nov. 26, sent four people to area hospitals and shutdown Gum Spring Road for an hour.
Dorothy Kephart, 83, of McLean, was traveling south on Route 659 just south of Route 7 in a 2001 Oldsmobile when she allegedly went over the centerline and struck a 1991 Chevy Astro van head on. The driver of the van, Marvin Santos, 22, of Woodbridge, and two passengers were injured in the accident and taken to Loudoun Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Kephart was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Three other passengers in the van did not require medical treatment. Neither the victims nor the passengers in the accident were wearing their seat belts.
The accident, which occurred around 12:10 p.m., remains under investigation and charges against Kephart are pending, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Two Injured in Accident
A Loudoun County Sheriff's deputy and an Annandale woman were injured Nov. 23 in a three-vehicle accident on
Route 7 near Presidential Drive in Ashburn.
Anne Tiempo, 51, was traveling westbound in a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant on Route 7 when she allegedly improperly changed lanes in front of a 1997 Freightliner tractor trailer driven by Keith Faulconer, 40, of Stephenson, Va.
In an attempt to avoid the Mitsubishi the tractor trailer braked causing the brakes to lock. The tractor trailer continued to skid when it struck the car, and jackknifed. The truck then struck a Sheriff's 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe that was stopped at the light in the left-hand turn lane of Route 7.
The deputy inside the Chevrolet, Mark Rodriguez, 27, of Penn., received non-life-threatening injuries in the accident and was taken to the Lansdowne Campus of Loudoun Hospital.
Tiempo, who also received non-life-threatening injuries in the
accident, was also taken to Loudoun Hospital. Charges are pending in the accident.
Rodriguez has been a field deputy with the Sheriff's Office
for almost three years.
The accident occurred shortly around 10:45 a.m. and tied up westbound traffic for over an hour.
Calendar
All of the following events will take place at the government center in Leesburg at 1 Harrison Street.
Monday, Dec. 6 - Planning Commission worksession, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 7 - Board of Supervisors, 9:30 a.m.
Monday, Dec. 13 - Transportation Committee, 6:30 p.m. Planning Commission Public Hearing, 6 p.m.