Warmer weather means more crime
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| Mason Police Commander Capt. David Smith (right) presents the “Edwin Smith Officer of the Year Award” to Pfc. Jonathan Nytes at the April 1 CAC meeting. Nytes, a 10-year veteran on the Fairfax County police force, has been a consistently high performer, mentors junior officers, and has a particularly strong record in DUI arrests. The Rotary Club of Bailey’s Crossroads presented Nytes with a $100 gift card. |
commander of the Mason District Police Station, said at the April 1 Citizens
Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting. “History has shown that crimes increase as
the weather gets better.”
and crimes of opportunity, Smith said. He urges residents to keep their car doors and garage doors locked and report suspicious activities.
There were four or five incidents of tools stolen from
vehicles in various areas of Mason last weekend, said Lt. Joe Flynn, supervisor
of detectives at the Mason station. There have also been reports of Mason
residents receiving harassing phone calls from tax scammers who tell them they owe tax money
to the IRS and need to send money.
and structural problems was occupied by an alleged ring of burglars, Flynn
said. Two of them, including one man linked to a California gang, were arrested
for burglaries in Prince William and Loudoun counties.
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| This house is not only under investigation for multi-occupancy, the residents were arrested for burglary. |
have to worry about,” he added, noting that school resource officers at Stuart High
School and other nearby schools are keeping an eye on potential
troublemakers.
the Barcroft View apartments on Columbia Pike a few weeks ago, Flynn said. The suspect had
responded to an ad for a laptop on Craig’s List and appears to be connected to
five other robberies. There was another Craig’s List robbery on Metro Court in
Annandale recently, but that suspect escaped.
truck safety. Nicholson, a military veteran with experience as a truck
driver, is one of three officers assigned full time to look for safety problems
with commercial trucks and ticket the drivers.
last year involved commercial trucks, Nicholson said.
secured cargo, worn-out tires, faulty brakes, flimsy trailer hitches, broken parts and cracks, liquids
spilling out the back of dump truck, cargo hanging out
the side, and fake inspection stickers.
Some truckers only make $20 for hauling a load, so they don’t want to spend a lot of money repairing their vehicles, he said. As a result, there are many trucking companies that cut corners on safety.
He busted a 16-year-old driving a dump truck. Another driver he ticketed turned out to be a felon who’d been deported. His main concern is vehicle safety, but sometimes a traffic stop could
reveal a more serious issue, like the time he found five kilos of
cocaine in a truck.
There were a lot of problems with the snowplow contractors hired by VDOT this winter, Nicholson said. They are paid $225 an hour, he said, and “with that kind of money, they better be doing it right. My job is to take unsafe trucks off the road.”
Where there is zoning non-complianc issues such as the residence noted above, there is likely more crime related issues going on. Somehting our code and elected official have not successfully put their arms around.
Lack of enforcement of nuissance crimes breeds more criminal acitivty. NY got it, but FFX still doesn't get it!
Thanks for the nice report of happenings at the CAC meeting. With the ability to report suspicious activities online, we all need to do so…if we see it, say it…easy to do, no excuses. A big "thank you" and congratulations to our Mason District Station Officer of the Year.
Who else but Ellie would have the answer to the question all my neighbors were asking. Why were there 7 police cars in my neighborhood at 6845 Montrose Street? Right across from Holmes Middle School.
Ellie, do you have the sources to keep us posted on follow-up? As of Friday 4/4/14 there were still 6 cars and many televisions in the driveway.
Eviction seems to be in progress at 6485 (address correction) Montrose St.
They had a large yard sale last Saturday but I was afraid to buy anything for fear it was stolen.
OK, so I'm dyslexic. Correct address is 6548 Montrose St. No update yet in code compliance database.