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 …
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Captain Jim Baumstark and First Lieutenant William Jacoby discussed crime in the Franconia District during Wednesday night's CAC meeting.
While discussing crime in the Kingstowne and Franconia area at Wednesday's Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting, Captain Jim Baumstark — Franconia District Police Station commander — explained that recent assaults in Lorton may be the work of a possible "copycat serial groper." Like the suspect(s) in the Springfield assaults, the suspect in the multiple assaults in Lorton has not been apprehended. The Springfield area has seen a string of 24 unsolved assaults by a serial groper or possibly two suspects that began in September. The latest took place in late March in Kingstowne. In the most recent incident in Lorton, a 31-year-old woman was approached from behind at around 10:45 a.m. April 10, while walking near Timarand Court and …
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 …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Since releasing video of a possible suspect, police have been following leads to catch the the man allegedly responsible for 24 simple assaults.
A week after releasing surveillance video of a potential suspect in the series of Springfield assaults, Fairfax County Police Department detectives are still following up on some of the phone calls they received, said PIO Lucy Caldwell. Caldwell said FCPD didn't receive an overwhelming amount of phone calls after the video was released; however, detectives are also following other viable leads they've received throughout the investigation. A series of Springfield assaults have been occurring since early September of last year. The suspect is approaching women of different ages and races from behind, grabbing them and fleeing. Police have not specified where on the body the victims were touched during the assaults. The latest incident …
Monday, April 1, 2013
The video comes four days after a possible 24th attack in Kingstowne.
Video of a man who may be the person some people call the Fairfax County serial groper has been released by Fairfax County police. The video is from a surveillance video taken around 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon at the HomeGoods store in the Kingstowne Towne Center, where a possible 24th attack in the series of assaults was reported to police. Fairfax County police are asking for the public's help in identifying the person in the video. Anyone with information should call 703-691-2131 or contact CrimeSolvers 866-411-TIPS. Thursday's incident, along with the 23 other incidents reported since early September, are still under investigation. Back in March, around 200 residents attended a community meeting hosted by the Franconia District Station …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
A woman reportedly was grabbed Thursday afternoon in Kingstowne Towne Center. Police suspect the incident to be connected to previous serial groper incidents.
Fairfax County Police responded to a possible 24th report in the series of Springfield assaults around 3 p.m. Thursday, after a 31-year-old woman was assaulted by a man in the 5900 block of Kingstowne Towne Center. According to Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell, the victim said she was followed by the man into the Home Goods store, which Caldwell said is distinctly different from the 23 incidents reported in the past six months where the victim were approached from behind on a public street. The man grabbed the victim then fled, according to police. Other shoppers attempted to help, but the man still got away from the area, Caldwell said Thursday afternoon. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 30s. At the time of the …
Saturday, March 23, 2013
After hearing about serial groper incidents, C&J Security Corporation offered its services through Fairfax County Police Department free of charge.
A class of about 12 local women gathered at Crestwood Elementary School Saturday morning in Springfield to take a women's self defense class. In light of the series of unsolved assaults that have been occurring in the Springfield area since September, Frank Cresswell — president of C&J Security Corp. and a retired FCPD police officer — said he thought it was important to conduct a class in the Franconia District. FCPD Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell confirmed that the Fairfax County Police Department didn't pay C&J Security and the class was offered free of charge to the community. Caldwell said Cresswell wanted to offer the class specifically in the Franconia District because of the series of reported assaults. "I heard about the…
Monday, March 18, 2013
Top news of the week from our Patch sites around Virginia and DC.
Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week. 19. More Than 200 Pack Serial Groper Meeting Thursday Night in Springfield: Approximately 250 Springfield residents packed a Fairfax County Police community meeting Thursday night to discuss their concerns about a series of assaults — likely 22 in all — by a man dubbed "the serial groper," that have occurred throughout the Springfield area since September. FCPD scheduled the meeting to update residents on the case and answer questions from concerned citizens. 18. Vice President Biden Visits Injured Officer's First Responders: Vice President Joe Biden visited the Alexandria Police Department last Friday, meeting with…
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Here are the top Patch stories of the past week in and around your area.
Teenager Reports Sex Assault on Lake Braddock Drive in Burke Sexual Assault, 8900 block of Lake Braddock Drive, 3/11/13, 3 p.m. A 15-year-old reported she was walking when someone approached from behind and touched her inappropriately. The helicopter, a K-9 team, and several officers searched for the suspect, but he was not located. Woman Charged in Drunk Driving Accident on Interstate 66 Some questions remain around the drunk driving accident Monday on I-66 that sent five people — including a Fairfax County police officer and two young children — to the hospital. Patch initially reported the alleged drunk driver was carrying two young boys in her vehicle — both of them her sons. Police said Tuesday afternoon they have not confirmed if the…
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Plus a world-record holder for long legs in Falls Church, suspects steal a table from Dunkin' Donuts in Fairfax City and thieves make off with a washer and dryer in Manassas Park. Yep, weirdness abounds once again this week in the commonwealth.
Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening in at least one of them. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. --- Why are you so tired this week? We lost an hour last weekend to Daylight Saving Time. But weirdness never sleeps in Virginia, so let's start off with news from Reston and some weird ideas about how to run a government. We've heard of sequestration shutting down White House tours and never mind grown-ups being put on furlough. How about kids? Kids losing their summer camps? Parents who enrolled their children in Reston Association's Science Camp for the summer were notified Wednesday that the camp has fallen victim to sequestration. …
Nina
7:34 pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Do you think HomeGoods may need to update their security system to be able to actually identify individuals? more ›