Crime & Safety

Top Vienna Police Stories of 2011

Vienna Police department shares its biggest news this year.

Vienna residents aren't likely to forget some of the crimes that occurred in the area over the past year,from robberies to deaths to the rescue of a neighborhood dog.

With the help of the Vienna Police Department, Patch has collected a list of some notable crimes in Fairfax County during 2011, ranked in no particular order.

1. Scams continued to top the list of calls Vienna Police responded to this year. They ranged from fraudulent credit card charges, to solicitors to people who posed as repairmen before getting away with cards and cash.

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2. Vienna Police continue to investigate who became unresponsive during a car ride from Vienna to Reston in October, and later died in Washington, D.C.The incident is being investigated as a suspicious death case.

The boy's caregiver put him into a car on Lakewood Drive in Vienna on Wednesday and drove him to meet his mother in Reston.  Fairfax County EMS brought the child to Reston Hospital Center, where he was treated before being flown to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

3. A neighbor taking a walk in Southwest Vienna reported one September afternoon that J.R., an elderly dog they recognized, .  -- he was trapped and couldn't get out.

The sink hole was at the edge of J.R.'s property line, said Vienna Police Officer Bill Murray. Officers guessed he had been digging in the yard when the back of his hind legs and body sank about four feet into the hole. When he tried to dig himself out, he only sank deeper.

"This is a rarity," Murray said. "We recover a lot of stray dogs but don't often have to rescue them."

Four officers, along with three employees from Parks and Recreation, responded and began removing dirt around the dog -- a turn of events J.R. was not happy about. His rescuers wore gloves to protect them from bites as they made progress.

When he was freed J.R. could use his front legs, but "his back legs just weren't working at all," Murray said. At that point, J.R. "realized what [officers] were trying to do" and was calm as he was loaded onto dog stretcher before taking him to the Hope Center. J.R. recovered and is back to running around the yard (but hopefully not near the sink hole)

4. Police continue at

The bank, at 353 Maple Ave E. , is the fourth bank robbery in Vienna this year. The other three all occurred at United Bank, 226 Maple Ave, 

The suspects –one man and one woman – entered the bank after 4 p.m. Aug. 28 and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash before officers arrived. Nobody was injured in the robbery. Fairfax County Police Department’s K-9 unit responded that afternoon to track the suspects. They were not found.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded to assist Vienna Police with their investigation.

Just two bank robberies were reported in Vienna in all of 2010, Police said.

5.  Auxiliary Police Officer Ken Plumb retired April 15 after serving the Town of Vienna Police Department for more than 16 years. He joined just four years after the creation of the department's Auxiliary Police Force, becoming a staple in the community who was often requested for certain events like the annual town Egg Hunt.

6. Vienna Police arrested two suspects 

Christopher Aaron Johnson, 22, of Centreville, was charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and robbery. Police also charged Destinee Ashley Rose-Blackburn, 21, also of Centreville, with robbery. Police believe Rose-Blackburn assisted Johnson in the robbery.

Officers by store employees, who said a lone male -- now believed to be Johnson -- entered the store, revealed a handgun and gave them a demand note. He fled the pharmacy with an unknown amount of drugs, Police said.

7. An 18-year-old James Madison High School student

The teen was stopped by Vienna Police Sgt. Tom Taylor in the 200 block of Maple Avenue. As Taylor approached the vehicle he detected marijuana, according to Vienna Police, and after further investigation, he found four ounces of marijuana in the trunk. Vienna Police said Taylor later received a search warrant for the boy's home, where he found drug paraphernalia and an additional 11 ounces of marijuana.

8. The on Maple Avenue between March and June.  It's not clear if the same suspect is responsible for all three robberies, Police said.

Police said the suspect approached an employee who was unlocking the bank before 8 a.m. June 16. Inside the bank, the suspect revealed a weapon and demanded money. The suspect took off on foot. Nobody was injured in the robbery, Police said.

When , a lone male suspect entered the bank, revealed a handgun and demanded money from a teller before leaving the building on foot. The amount of cash  he took is unknown, Police said. Nobody was injured. 

On March 11, the bank was robbed in the same way. was described as  "as a black male in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a black ski mask, black jacket, light-colored pants, black shoes and carrying a black bag."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.