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One of two hit-and-run drivers in fatal Fauquier crash arrested
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One of two hit-and-run drivers in fatal Fauquier crash arrested

An arrest has been made in the case of Garland J. Heddings, a 73-year-old pedestrian killed in Fauquier County after reportedly getting hit on Elk Run Rd. by southbound and northbound hit-and-run drivers. Virginia State Police, which had called on the public to assist in the investigation, announced Dennis D. Dunning, 54, of Catlett, is one of the suspected drivers. VSP said Dunning was located at his residence on Burwell Road in Fauquier and taken into custody on Wednesday, Nov. 13, without incident. Dunning is charged with felony hit-and-run, involuntary manslaughter, and operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock. He’s being held at Fauquier Adult Detention Center without bond. Dunning’s arraignment for this morning was continued, court records show. Currently, his ne...
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Stafford awarded custody of 80 chickens seized in cockfighting case
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Stafford awarded custody of 80 chickens seized in cockfighting case

Stafford County Sheriff’s Office announced animal control was granted custody of all 80 chickens seized from an illegal cockfighting ring at a residence on Norman Rd. The alleged cockfighting operation was discovered on November 7 when SCSO went to execute a search warrant at the Norman Rd. property for a stolen property report, the Sheriff’s Office explained. The cockfighting issue had already been reported to the Special Problems Unit, and when officers executed the stolen property warrant, they saw the large number of chickens on the property and obtained a second warrant related to the cockfighting allegations, SCSO explained. In addition to 80 game fowl chickens, SCSO reported finding controlled substances, equipment, and weapons directly related to cockfighting. (Photo: S...
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Sheriff warns scammers across VA are showing up to people’s homes to collect
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Sheriff warns scammers across VA are showing up to people’s homes to collect

It appears there are a bunch of scams “plaguing” the Commonwealth of Virginia, and scammers are now showing up at people’s homes to collect, warned Mathews County Sheriff April Edwards. In a public service announcement, Edwards said the scam has found its way to Mathews, a rural county at the tip of the Middle Peninsula. In one instance, a Mathews family was contacted by someone claiming his son had been arrested in another state and was injured from getting into a car accident, the sheriff explained. The caller requested $9,800 in cash to pay the public defender’s office for defense. “The family went to the bank, withdrew $9,800 in cash, and these fools actually had the nerve to show up to the house to collect the $9,800,” Sheriff Edwards said. “Do I need to explain to you jus...
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Patrick County, VA man accused of trying to set his father on fire
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Patrick County, VA man accused of trying to set his father on fire

A 28-year-old Stuart man in Patrick County was arrested after allegedly attempting to set his father on fire. It was after 1 p.m. yesterday, Wednesday, Nov. 6, when a 911 call came in reporting a disturbance at 3243 Clark House Farm Road in Stuart. According to Lieutenant Steve Austin, when deputies, arrived Eric William Walker was outside of the residence subject to the call. The preliminary investigation revealed that Walker and his father got into argument that escalated into a physical altercation, police say. Walker allegedly went outside got a bottle of “suspected lighter fluid” and poured it on his father. Walker then attempted to ignite it, according to the police account. The father was able to escape and ran to a neighbor’s house. The Sheriff’s Office said Walker ...
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Woodbridge murder suspect caught at Dulles trying to flee from US
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Woodbridge murder suspect caught at Dulles trying to flee from US

On Sunday, Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez, a 19-year-old suspect in a 2022 Prince William murder case was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport “fleeing” the country, US Customs and Border Protection revealed. Alleged drug deal murder On December 21, 2022, Jose Abelino Guerrero, a 20-year-old Woodbridge man, was reported missing by his family. Initially, there were no direct indications that he was missing under suspicious circumstances, according to a statement from Prince William Police Department. But when Guerrero’s vehicle was found two days later near Bel Air Rd. and Jeffries Rd., there was evidence of a struggle and blood inside, said PWPD. That prompted them to upgrade Guerrero’s status to endangered. In the weeks following Guerrero’s disappearance, PW...
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Alexandria police searching for white male in attempted abduction case
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Alexandria police searching for white male in attempted abduction case

No arrest has been made in the case of an attempted abduction that allegedly occurred yesterday at Holmes Run Dog Park, Alexandria Police Department stated in an update this afternoon. APD reported that, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on October 29, a man described as white with brown hair wearing a blue sweatshirt and camouflage shorts grabbed a woman for behind and attempted to pull her into a wooded area at Tarleton Park off S. Gordon Street and Wheeler Ave. Police say the woman fought the man off and was able to escape without injury. A perimeter was set up around the area, K-9 units were deployed, and a search helicopter was called in, APD reported. But the suspect fled and has not been found. Today, APD said detectives in the Criminal Investigations Division are recanvassing the...
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Hit & Run tractor-trailer crash kills 93-year-old in Leesburg
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Hit & Run tractor-trailer crash kills 93-year-old in Leesburg

Leesburg Police Department is investigating a hit-and-run tractor-trailer incident that claimed the life of a Lovettsville woman. On October 23, at approximately 1:45 p.m., a tractor-trailer was traveling northbound on the Rt. 15 bypass and struck a Chrysler 300 at Fort Evans Road NE, LPD said the preliminary investigation revealed. There were three people in the Chrysler 300. All of them were transported to the hospital, and 93-year-old Monica Lee, a passenger, died from her injuries LPD reported. The driver and other passenger have been released. According to LPD, the truck didn’t remain at the scene and was later found abandoned in the 1000 block of Edwards Ferry Road NE. The department said investigators have spoken with several “persons of interest associated with the truck” ...
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Man dead at Courtland Inn after police receive threat of self-harm call
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Man dead at Courtland Inn after police receive threat of self-harm call

The Norfolk Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will be conducting a death investigation involving a man who appears to have shot himself at the Courtland Inn on Jerusalem Rd., Southampton Sheriff’s Office confirmed. The incident began shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday when a call came in reporting a man made a threat to harm himself to one of his family members, the Sheriff's Office stated. When police arrived at the scene, no one answered the door of the room where the man in question was believed to be and no one was able to contact him, the Sheriff’s Office stated. Deputies planned to enter the room to verify if the man was in there and to see if he needed any medical attention so they obtained a key from motel staff. According to the Sheriff’s Office, as soon as deputies opened...
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Guatemalan woman allegedly tried to smuggle heroin in coffee at Dulles
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Guatemalan woman allegedly tried to smuggle heroin in coffee at Dulles

A Guatemalan woman was caught at Washington Dulles International Airport allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 800 grams of heroin into the United States, Customs and Border Protection announced. On Sunday, October 27, 31-year-old Maria Jose Recinos Rodriguez arrived on a morning flight from Guatemala City and was referred for a routine secondary examination for food couriers. CBP said its officers found seven packages of heroin—three large parcels and 4 small sleeves—concealed inside three bags of coffee, and the material was tested to confirm what it was. In total, the heroin weighed 798 grams, or 1 lb. 12 oz. and CBP reported its street value as approximately $55,000. Recinos Rodriguez and the heroin were over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers, and ...
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Fmr. Portsmouth prosecutor awaiting federal drug sentence is stripped of law license
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Fmr. Portsmouth prosecutor awaiting federal drug sentence is stripped of law license

The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board announced the law license for Matthew Taylor Morris has been revoked after the former Portsmouth prosecutor pled guilty to federal drug charges on Sept. 24. 13 News Now reported Morris resigned from his position as assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Portsmouth on Sept. 6 amid proceedings in the federal drug conspiracy case. Morris admitted to his role in an operation the feds refer to as the Rogers Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), federal documents show. In 2021, Morris introduced Donald Thomas Rogers, a 35-year-old Portsmouth man to Nicholas Cameron Capehart, a 30-year-old from Norfolk. Capehart and Rogers were both in the THC business, and Morris admitted he made the connection thinking Capehart would supply Rogers. But ...
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