Sunday, May 19, 2013
FCPD provided information about the new police cruisers during the recent CAC meeting at Franconia District Police Station.
Fairfax County police officers are saying farewell to their old cruisers as the department purchases 127 Ford Police Interceptor sedans and utility vehicles in FY2013. Retired Lieutenant Chalrie Bond — who is now the director of the logistics and property division for the department — conducted a presentation during a Citizen Advisory Committee meeting in Kingstowne Wednesday. Bond said Ford Motor Vehicles recently discontinued the Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. The 2007 model was the last of its kind. FCPD has 1,500 vehicles — 762 which are assigned to eight stations, including the stations that serve the Burke area and Braddock District, West Springfield and Fair Oaks. The current cruisers are large four-door vehicles with a V8 …
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Unified Prevention Coalition has partnered with the Fairfax County Police Department for an annual "medicine cabinet clean-out" which aims to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse in the county.
Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Fairfax County and a handful of local organizations are working to put a stop to what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has classified as an epidemic. Prescription drug abuse is a different problem compared to others in the county, due to its reach and rate of expansion, said Amy Reif, health sector coordinator for the Unified Prevention Coalition (UPC) of Fairfax County, who spoke with reporters Tuesday at the Mason District Governmental Center in Annandale. According to statistics from UPC, there were 51 drug/poison deaths in Fairfax County in 2011 and deaths by prescription drugs such as fentanyl, hydrocodone, methadone and oxycodone than by cocaine and heroin. In an effort to curb …
Friday, May 10, 2013
FCPD is still investigating the series of Springfield assaults.
It has been more than a month since the last report (March 28) of an incident connected to the series of Springfield assaults by the so-called serial groper — so far, it marks the longest time period between incidents since they began in early September. Previously, the longest time between related incidents was 23 days, when the sixth incident took place Oct. 2 and the seventh incident occurred Oct. 25. Fairfax County Police Department PIO Lucy Caldwell recently said in an email to Patch that detectives are currently still investigating the assaults, but at the moment, no other related incidents have been reported since the last assault happened the afternoon of March 28 at the HomeGoods store in Kingstowne. "We are continuing to …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
A group of runaway sheep were on the lam when they were found.
A group of four sheep being held by Fairfax County Police Animal Control are waiting to see if their owner comes to claim them. Apparently, someone has lost their sheep, and can't tell where to find them. The sheep were found running around the Centreville area last weekend, as reported by Centreville Patch. If they aren't claimed by next Wednesday, April 24, then the sheep will be put up for adoption, according to a post Thursday morning on the Fairfax County Police Facebook page. Police mentioned the possibility earlier that the sheep would be put up for adoption and are reminding the public (and the owners), today. Here's the message from police, under a photo of the sheep: Do you know where our owner is? Animal Control Officers herded …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The boy was found in a hotel in Las Vegas with his mother, who has been arrested and is being held as a fugitive from justice.
Fairfax County Police announced Wednesday that Cameron Serafin, the Fairfax County boy who has been missing since April 7, has been found safe and his mother Rebecca has been arrested. Investigators had been looking for Rebecca Serafin and her 5-year-old son since she did not return the boy to his father's home in Great Falls as scheduled. “Following information they developed after viewing the video, LVPD [Las Vegas Police Department] detectives located Cameron and Rebecca Serafin at another hotel close by,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department release. “Cameron is safe and in good condition. His mother is being held as a fugitive from justice and will await extradition back to Virginia. Cameron’s father is already making …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The 24 incidents are currently classified as simple assaults.
After giving a General Assembly update to the Springfield Civic Association last month, Del. Vivian Watts (D-39th) listened to a discussion at the meeting about the serial groper. Upon hearing that police are classifying the incidents as simple assaults and not sexual assaults, she is now asking questions. Watts has written a letter to Franconia District Police Station commander, Captain Jim Baumstark, after hearing him speak at the meeting about the string of 24 Springfield assaults, which date from September to late March. Baumstark referred to the series of incidents as "simple assaults," as he and other police have mentioned previously. At the community meeting in March, Baumstark said after getting clarification with the state, they …
The following information was supplied by the Fairfax County Police Department in the most recent daily reports released April 15. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.
On the above map, the addresses are block numbers, not specific home or business addresses. The following items are from the recent daily activity reports from the West Springfield, Franconia, and Fair Oaks Police District Stations of the Fairfax County Police Department. Assault, Annaberg Court/Bridgetown Place (red on map), 4/14/13, 12:56 a.m. Officers were responding to a dispute between roommates when a 45-year-old man informed that one of the roommates allegedly punched him earlier. Sean Griffin, 28, of Burke, was charged with assault. Stolen Vehicles 7400 block of Hastings Street (purple on map), 2005 Toyota Scion No larcenies were reported.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Police have issued a felony warrant for Rebecca Serafin, who allegedly fled the state with her son.
Fairfax County Police said they have confirmed a sighting of Rebecca and Cameron Serafin at an airport in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday. Police have been looking for the Fairfax County mother and her 5-year-old son since last week, when Rebecca Serafin did not return the boy to his father's home as scheduled. As a result of that confirmed sighting, a felony warrant was obtained charging Rebecca Serafin with felony parental abduction, accoring to a police press release. "We are working closely with our law enforcement partners across the country to gather and analyze potential investigative leads in order to locate and to bring Cameron home as soon as possible," FCPD said in the statement. "We continue to encourage the public to engage in …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
A Prince William County jury recommended Thursday that James Craig Summers, a former Fairfax County police officer, be sentenced to 7 years in prison.
A former Fairfax County police officer was convicted Thursday in Prince William County Circuit Court of forcibly sodomizing his ex-girlfriend in 2009. James Craig Summers, 56, a Burke resident who served with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department for 30 years before he became a police officer, was found guilty on the third day of a jury trial. Summers was arrested in May 2012. The victim told the court that, in one incident while she was dating Summers, he grabbed her arm, twisted it around her back, handcuffed her and then forcibly anally sodomized her—despite her pleas for him to stop. After deliberating for several hours Wednesday afternoon and part of Thursday morning, the five men and seven women recommended that Summers …
Cameron Serafin, 5, was supposed to be returned to his father on Sunday; authorities have issued a warrant for his mother.
Five-year-old Cameron Serafin was supposed to return Sunday to his father in Great Falls. But he never came home, say Fairfax County police, who asked for the public's help Thursday in finding the missing child. According to police, Cameron is believed to be with his mother, Rebecca Serafin, 32. Serafin was supposed to return the child to his father on Sunday. A warrant has been issued for Serafin’s arrest on charges of custodial interference, a misdemeanor, police said. Detectives say they have reason to be concerned about the boy's welfare. There was no address available for Cameron's mother. Fairfax Police Officer Shelley Broderick said Cameron and his mother could be anywhere. Police believe that Serafin has changed her and her son’s …
Terrence Dankel
10:27 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Think of what conditions are leading to the desire for performance enhancing medications. Are students too stressed, too tired to be able to maintain the "edge" that is so sought in this community? Not advocating an excuse by any means but this can't all be due to nonstop " media of choice" exposure. more ›