Community Corner

Weird Virginia: Senior Citizen's Sticky Fingers, Raccoons Come a Callin' and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Hat-Wearing Bank Robber

Plus pizza delivery driver selling more than pizzas, a whole lotta pennies and the mystery of the acid-green bus solved.

By Mary Ann Barton

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings-on over the past week.

Summer is almost gone and soon the kids will be back to school. If you think it’s been a long, hot, dull summer, think again. There’s weirdness wherever you look around Northern Virginia.

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Our first foray into weirdness: A Manassas man who wanted more on his pizza than pepperoni.

Pizza Delivery Man Sold Drugs, Robbed of Stash by Would-be Buyer: A pizza delivery driver was apparently into selling more than pizzas, Manassas Police said. It happened Friday, Aug. 16, near Centreville Road and Liberia Avenue when police said a man tried to rob a pizza delivery driver. The driver and his manager gained the upper hand after chasing the suspect and holding him down on the ground.

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An off-duty police officer saw the incident and got involved by holding the suspect down until uniformed officers arrived. An investigation revealed the suspect had arranged to buy marijuana from the pizza delivery driver, but then took it by force. Both men were hauled away by police.

This next tale is about discount shopping. We all have heard that TJ Maxx offers great deals. But one Maxxinista, a 70 year-old woman in Fairfax, took it a little too far. That’s just the suspect City of Fairfax Police found themselves arresting recently at the local TJ Maxx store. Employees spotted the woman attempting to conceal merchandise in a shoulder bag and make her way out of the store, so they detained her until police arrived — and discovered the shoulder bag was lifted, too.

We can only imagine what it must have been like for this apartment dweller to come home to the sound of four raccoons rifling through their home. Eek!

Raccoons Invade Arlington Home: Four raccoons were reported in a Douglas Park home this month after a neighbor had been feeding them, according to the latest round of Arlington Animal Control reports. The raccoons got in through the gaps of a window air-conditioning unit and were chased out with a broom.

If you’re like us, you have seen an acid-green bus parked in Falls Church just off of Broad Street. Wondering what it’s for? Wonder no longer.

What’s Up With the Bikenetic Green Bus? It's become a common sight in Falls Church — and at local bike races. Residents and cyclists are wondering: What's the story behind the bright green school bus parked behind Bikenetic?

A young man in Fairfax Station learned the hard way that it pays to stop when police say “stop!”

Crosspointe Community Entranceway Smashed in Hit and Run, 21-Year-Old Arrested: The brick entranceway to the Crosspointe Communty in Fairfax Station was smashed by a car on Aug. 15, and Stefan Fekeci, a 21-year-old Fairfax County man, was arrested for reckless driving, disregarding a police command to stop and hit and run.

Over in the Richmond Highway area, police and the FBI are hoping the public can tell them who this bank robber is.Clue: They’re pretty sure he robbed a bank while wearing a hat bearing the likenesses of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Know someone with that hat? Oh, the bank robber also likes to wear construction worker gear. He’s worn that twice while robbing banks in the area.

FBI Seeks Information on ‘Beacon Hill’ Bank Robber: The FBI is currently looking for information on a subject who may be responsible for robbing TD Bank located at 6615 Richmond Hwy., across from Beacon Hill Shopping Center four times from March 2010 to July 2013, according to a recent news release.

And last but not least, some folks in McLean are doing something fun with money (instead of trying to steal it):

Flower & Plant’s New Floor: 250,000-Plus Pennies: Chip and Sonya Frederick, owners of Flowers & Plants, Etc. on Chain Bridge Road recently completed redoing their shop's floor entirely in pennies. More than 250,000 pennies were used, and the couple hopes to achieve a world record.


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