<sh>Arrests after Machete Attack
<bt>Fairfax County police have charged two people in connection with a machete attack last Sunday, July 1, in Chantilly. They are Pablo Portillo, 29, of 4299 Pennsboro Drive in Chantilly's Brookfield community, and Jose Morales, 40, of 43623 Hetrick Lane in South Riding.
According to police, a 32-year-old Chantilly man was assaulted outside by two people, around 9 p.m., in the 4200 block of Pennsboro Drive. The victim sustained a minor laceration to his arm when the first suspect cut him with a machete. The second suspect reportedly held the victim down and punched him repeatedly.
Believing Portillo and Morales were responsible, police charged them with attempted malicious wounding and took them to the Adult Detention Center. They're both being held without bond and have Sept. 10 court dates.
<sh>'Spider-Man' Nabbed, Charged
<bt>A man wearing a Spider-Man mask stole narcotics June 25 from the pharmacy in a Giant Foods store in Burke. Fairfax County police said he implied that he had a weapon and told a pharmacist, a 39-year-old Clifton woman, to give him Oxycontin. She opened the safe, and "Spidey" swiped some pills and fled.
However, after receiving a tip about the vehicle used in the robbery, police made a traffic stop of it at Burke Centre Parkway and Burke Lake Road. They then nabbed the man they believe posed as Spider-Man and committed the crime. He is Dave Edward Wolfe, Jr., 25, of 9775 High Water Court in Burke, and last Thursday, June 28, police charged him with robbery.
<sh>Police Operation Sober Summer
<bt>Virginia State Police conducted a DUI enforcement last Saturday night, June 30, in Northern Virginia. Operation Sober Summer targeted drunk drivers and resulted in 191 traffic and eight criminal violations.
From 9 p.m. that night until 5 a.m. the next morning, 25 state troopers saturated the highways in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and arrested 12 drunk drivers total. They also issued citations for the following offenses: 47 reckless driving, 68 speeding violations, 16 equipment violations, five seat belt/child restraint violations, 43 other traffic violations, 5 felony criminal arrests (two hit-and-run, two eluding police and one concealed weapon),
three misdemeanor arrest (two revoked licenses and one altered license tag).
Other DUI enforcement projects will be conducted randomly during the coming months in Northern Virginia. The enforcement projects are part of an ongoing effort by the State Police to reduce traffic crashes by strict enforcement of traffic laws, with special emphasis on drunk drivers, reckless driving, speeding and safety/child restraint violations.
<sh>Accident on Route 29
<bt>Two people were injured last week after two cars crashed head-on into each other on Route 29 near Bull Run Post Office Road in Centreville. The accident occurred last Thursday, June 28, around 6 p.m.
Fairfax County police say a 2001 Chevrolet utility van driven by a 45-year-old Warrenton man was traveling westbound on Route 29. A 61-year-old Loudoun County woman was driving a 1998 Buick four-door eastbound on Route 29.
According to police, the van driver was allegedly distracted by his cell phone and drove through the median strip to avoid traffic which had stopped ahead. The van crossed into the eastbound lanes, striking the other vehicle.
The van driver was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The woman driving the Buick was medevaced to Inova Fairfax Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police say alcohol was not a factor and the investigation is continuing.
<sh>Park Authority to Meet
<bt>The Fairfax County Park Authority will meet Wednesday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 900, in Fairfax. Call Judy Pedersen at 703-324-8662.
<sh>Blood Donations are Sought
<bt>The Inova Blood Donor Center in the Centremed I Building on Route 29 in Centreville (across from the Centreville Multiplex Cinemas) is in urgent need of blood donations — especially O positive or negative, as well as A and B. They're accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. For an appointment to give blood, call 703-322-1970, or drop in at your own convenience.
<sh>Role Models for Children
<bt>Volunteers are needed throughout Northern Virginia to be positive role models for children who currently have an incarcerated parent. Mentors meet with children two hours per week. Weekly meetings are supplemented by monthly group recreational activities. The only qualification required is a desire to help a child in need.
To sign up for the mentor training session at the Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, call Ellen Klene, Volunteer Program manager, at 703-533-3302, ext. 107, or see www.cmhs.org.
<sh>Meals on Wheels Needs Drivers
<bt>The Fairfax Area Agency on Aging "Meals on Wheels" program is in immediate need of drivers to deliver meals, Monday through Friday, to senior adults living in Fairfax County. Volunteers who speak Vietnamese are also needed.
The job involves picking up meals at specified sites between 10:30 a.m.-noon and delivering them to seniors by 1 p.m. Drivers may choose to deliver meals on a daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly or substitute basis. Call the Fairfax AAA Volunteer Intake Line at 703-324-5406 or e-mail melanie.mitchell@fairfaxcounty.gov.