During summer evenings, Oakton resident Leigh Glenn and her boyfriend like to take walks around the neighborhood. Glenn will often walk three to four times a week up and down Blake Lane, near where she lives.
Several weeks ago, she and her boyfriend noticed eggshells near the Blake Lane Park dog park, but she didn't think much of it. A few days later in late June, around 10:30 p.m., she saw an egg land at her feet as she was coming to the light at Sutton Road.
On Tuesday, July 13, around 8:25 p.m., someone egged her while she was walking near the dog park.
"I felt this stinging in my back and turned around, and there was this egg on me," Glenn said.
Although she hasn't been egged since then, Glenn hopes that more people who have been victims of the egging perpetrators will come forward. So do Fairfax County Police, who said people don't usually call when their property or they themselves have been egged.
"We urge people to call us regardless," said Fairfax County Police officer Bud Walker.
Fairfax County Police classify egging in the same category as graffiti or vandalism. Over the last two months, 45 cases of graffiti or vandalism have occurred in the county, although the offenses are not broken down by type. That number of cases is not higher or lower than any other time of the year, Walker said.
While no typical profile exists for someone who throws eggs, the penalties can be high. The offense is classified as destruction of property, and if the destruction is less than $1,000, the offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor. If it's more than $1,000, it is a Class 6 felony.
Depending on the judge, a Class 1 misdemeanor can have a fine up to $1,000, as well as up to one year of jail time.
The fact that people can get away with egging is what concerns Glenn. When she was egged, she tried running after the vehicle, but neither she nor her boyfriend could catch it or get an accurate description of the car. She flagged down a patrolling police car, but the police officer was also unable to find the perpetrator.
As Glenn was walking back to her house, she encountered a family of four who had also been egged. The mother had been hit in the chest, as the perpetrator drove away.
"There's no need for that kind of thing. I figure, if they can get away with egging, what next?" said Glenn, who was considering posting fliers at the dog park and asking fellow citizens to report any such incidents.
Walker said citizens can report eggings even after the incident happened. If it happened to their house, he suggested that citizens can take a picture before they clean it up.
It "helps us target our patrolling," Walker said.