Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Captain Jim Baumstark spoke with members of the Citizen Advisory Committee at their monthly meeting Wednesday evening.
At Wednesday's Citizen Advisory Committee meeting, Captain Jim Baumstark — commander for the Franconia District Police Station — said there have been no reports of serial groper incidents in the greater Springfield area since the community meeting in March. Baumstark said this does not include the incident that happened in Kingstowne in late March, which he emphasized once again is unlike the serial groper's M.O. in the Springfield incidents. Police are still actively looking for the suspect in the 24 incidents reported since early September. Multiple patrol units are still focusing on the areas where incidents have occurred in Springfield. Baumstark said they are also still investigating the cases of a possible copycat in Lorton. For …
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 …
Friday, April 26, 2013
See which stories Kingstowne Patch readers clicked on the most in the month of April.
A few stories caught the attention of Kingstowne Patch readers this month. Here are the top 10 stories on the site from April. Once you're done reviewing the list, let us know if you're surprised by this month's top stories. Which story had you talking to neighbors or co-workers at the water cooler the next day? 10. Elevation Burger Coming to Hilltop Village Center Elevation Burger — a restaurant chain established in 2002 — will open at the soon-to-be Hilltop Village Center with Wegmans in Kingstowne next year, said franchise owner Neeraj Vohra in an email to Patch. The restaurant, which specializes in "an elevated product that is fresh and flavorful because it is made of the highest quality ingredients," will open in spring 2014 according…
Wednesday, April 17, 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 …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
See which stories Kingstowne Patch readers clicked on the most in the month of March.
A few stories caught the attention of Kingstowne Patch readers this month. Here are the top 10 stories on the site from the past month. Once you're done reviewing the list, let us know if you're surprised by this month's top stories. Which story had you talking to coworkers at the water cooler the next day? 10. Police Arrest Two Armed Men from Springfield in Connection with Burke-Area Burglaries Fairfax County Police have charged two Springfield men, after connecting them as suspects with a series of burglaries that took place Tuesday afternoon in the Burke area, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon. The two men, Andrew Kovch, 27, and Jimmy Le, 23, were charged with burglary, attempted burglary and grand larceny. 9. …
Sunday, March 24, 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 FCPD 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 assaults, and I'm just afraid …
keith mahone
7:41 am on Friday, May 10, 2013
Apparently he's incarcerated for something unrelated or he'd be plying his hobby with zeal. Or maybe he went to Guatemala to visit his family. Don't worry, folks. He'll be back. more ›