Car takes down power lines in Woodbridge

UPDATE: Power in the area of the crash was reported to restored after 6:30 p.m., according to Dominion Virginia Power.
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A car crash in Woodbridge led to about 100 customers loosing power Tuesday afternoon.

The crash happened about 4:30 p.m., at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Port Potomac Avenue, said police.

The car hit a transformer and took down some power lines at the intersection. The unidentified driver was flown to a local hospital after complaining of head injuries. Police said the injuries did not appear life threatening.

The temperature was 93 degrees in Woodbridge at the time of the crash, making for a tough go for rescue workers and motorists sitting in traffic at the scene of the crash.

We’ll have an update on this story when more information become available.

Send us photos from the scene if you're in the area.

As police department turns 40, top cop comments

The Prince William County Police Department will turn 40 next month and they want you to come and celebrate with them.

The party starts at 11 a.m. Saturday on the Sean T. Connaughton Plaza, behind the McCoart Building off Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge. All of the usual outdoor family fun activities are planned, like a dunk tank, face painting, moon bounce and an appearance by McGruff the Crime Dog.

But those who are curious about how police officers do their jobs and those who want to know more about the tools they use will get a behind the scenes look. Scheduled to be on display is the major crimes and incident command unit, Command One, the SWAT team, scuba team, forensic unit, mounted patrol and Marine One – Prince William County’s watercraft patrol unit – just to name a few, according to the county police Web site.

Police equipment, old and new, will also be on display. And so will a chronology of major events in Prince William County’s history. They’ll also have a vintage county police cruiser on display.

The police department formed in July 1970, taking over major policing operations from the Prince William County Sheriff’s Department, said police chief Charlie T. Deane. He was promoted to chief in 1988 but was recruited to the force from the Virginia State Police the same year the department began, when the county’s population was just over 100,000 people.

“We were all very excited about embarking on a new segment of our careers and establishing a new department,” said Deane. “Back then we were all generalists. We had K9s and the motorcycles, but over time, because of the demand for the services we developed more specialization.”

Now nearly 400,000 people live in the county and the department in recent years has seen its fair share of tough cases, including the Lexie Glover case in 2009, the Smith murders in Dale City in 2008 and the Bobbit case in 1993, when at 26, Lorena Bobbit used a knife to sever her husband’s penis.

She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. Her husband, John Wayne Bobbit, went on to star in a pornographic film after having the organ reattached.

Drowning victim identified

Police identified the man who fell into the Occoquan River and drowned last week.

Gregory James Gilker, 52, of Occoquan fell into the water while docking his sailboat at the Belmont Bay marina in Woodbridge on Thursday night.

A preliminary investigation revealed that  the man became stuck underneath the boat after falling into the river, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

Residents were able to get him onto the dock and fire and rescue personnel preformed CPR, but the man could not be saved and drowned, said Perok.

An autopsy confirmed drowning as the cause of death, he added.

Diner drowns at riverside restaurant

An Arlington man drowned at Tim’s Rivershore restaurant early Saturday morning.


Police were called to the riverside eatery and bar, at 1510 Cherry Hill Road near Dumfries, at 1:32 a.m., after the man walked away from the group of people he had been with. When police arrived, the man had not been seen for at least an hour and a half, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

Members of the department’s marine unit and dive team found the man’s body in the water, floating near the restaurant, said Perok.

Shelton Carl Burstrom, 74, is the victim in the drowning, said Perok.

An autopsy is scheduled to be preformed this afternoon to determine the cause of death.

Police do not think his death is suspicious.

Man drowned while docking sailboat

A man who drowned last night at a Woodbridge marina was trying to tie his sailboat to the dock.


Police said the unidentified 52-year-old man fell from the marina into the Occoquan River at 9:18 p.m., at the Belmont Bay marina at 530 Harbor Side Street.

A resident who was walking in the area then jumped into the river to help the man, but found him trapped underneath the boat, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

Police will release the victim’s name after they notify his next of kin, said Perok.

His death is being investigated as an accident.

Fire and rescue crews were called to the scene just about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. They pulled the man out the water and started CPR, but were unable to save the man’s life, according to initial reports from the scene.

Body pulled from Occoquan River

Rescue crews pulled the body of a man from the Occoquan River about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. They started CPR but it was already too late.

Police have identified last night’s drowning victim only as an adult male. His body was pulled from the water at the Belmont Bay marina in Woodbridge. It appears to be an accident, stated Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok in an e-mail.

A police investigation is ongoing and we expect to get more details as the day progresses.

The Belmont Bay marina sits in a neighborhood that shares the same name, behind the Woodbridge Virginia Railway Express station off U.S. 1. The neighborhood overlooks the Occoquan River, at the point where it meets the Belmont Bay.

Woman denies man directions, attacked

A woman was attacked while walking in her neighborhood by a garbage man, police say.


The 46-year-old female victim was in the area Bobwhite Drive, near Hope Road in Stafford, when a green trash truck pulled up next to her. A man got out, approached her and asked if she knew what street he was on, said Stafford Sheriff’s Major David Decatur.

The woman pointed to the posted street signs, and then he asked her to look at his map. When she said no and walked away, the man grabbed her from behind and knocked her to the ground, said Decatur. The woman then bit him, and while she was on the ground a car passed by and the man fled to his truck and drove off, said Decatur.

After the attack, police said the woman was missing her shoe. They did not say if she was injured.

A short time later, a sheriff’s deputy received a call on his cell phone about a truck similar to the one reported in the attack, spotted about a mile away on Jason Lane, said Decatur.

Police stopped the truck on, which was now on Antietam Loop, and then arrested 20-year-old Demetrice Deonte Ferguson, of Fredericksburg, charging him with abduction with the intent to defile, said Decatur.

Police say the truck Ferguson was is registered to Davis Disposal in Fredericksburg.

Man threatened with machete at homeless camp

A man was threatened with a machete as he returned to his tent at a Dale City homeless camp.

The victim saw a man using the blade to slice open his tent, and when the victim ap-proached him, the blade-wielder threatened to kill him, said a Prince William police spokesman.

James Shearer, 36, was charged with brandishing a machete and with attempted mali-cious wounding in connection to the incident.

The is the second attack in week at the homeless encampment.

The 49-year-old man was shot in the ear during an argument with another man about 9 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries.

Police are still looking for their suspect who fled on foot.

On Monday, an arrest warrant for Johnny McManus, 45, was issued, charging him with malicious wounding. He is described as black, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to call Prince William Crime Solvers at 703-670-3700.

The homeless encampment is located in the woods, near where Dale Boulevard crosses Interstate 95.

Gunfire injures North Stafford commuter

A man on his way to work Tuesday was injured after a gun blast shattered his car window.

The 37-year-old victim was driving his car through the Stafford Marketplace shopping center about 4:30 a.m., trying to avoid traffic on Va. 610, when he heard a loud blast in the area of T.J. Maxx and Lowes, said Stafford Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.

After the blast, the man saw that his rear car widow had shattered, and then noticed a hole in his windshield and a tear in the driver's side head rest, said Kennedy.

Looking for a hospital, the injured victim then drove to the entrance of the Aquia Harbor neighborhood where the gate attendant called 911, said Kennedy.

Once police and rescue crews arrived, the man was taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries. Investigators are not certain if the man was injured by flying debris or by a bullet fragment, said Kennedy.

The victim was not able to provide a description of the gunman.

Before the shot rang out, the man was headed to Interstate 95 for his usual commute to Northern Virginia, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office at 540-568-4000.

Stafford to address RV, truck parking

Stafford County supervisors again today will take up the topic of parking commercial and recreational vehicles on neighborhood streets.

Last month, county leaders favored an ordinance that allows homeowners associations to set their own rules when it comes to what types of recreational and commercial vehicles are allowed to park in their neighborhoods, deciding against an ordinance that would dictate parking countywide.

If the board passes the new ordinance at today’s meeting, the leaders of homeowners associations could obtain a petition from the county which would tell the sheriff’s department what types of watercraft, boat trailers, motor homes, camping trailers and commercial vehicles are allowed to park on their streets, county documents show.

A violation of those rules would be punishable up to a $35 fine.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors meets today at 1 p.m., at the county's adminisration center off U.S. 1.

Man shot in ear at Dale City homeless camp

The police helicopter hovering above Dale City on Sunday night was the result of a shooting that left one man shot in the ear.

The 49-year-old victim was shot about 9 p.m., during an argument he had with another man at the homeless encampment near the overpass at Dale Boulevard and Interstate 95, said Prince William police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.

The victim was treated at a local hospital, and police are still searching for their shooting suspect.

Johnny McManus, 45, is charged with malicious wounding in connection to the shooting, said Hernandez. McMannus does not have a last known address, he is described as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, police said.

Virginia State Police were called in to assist in the search, and troopers still remained posted at the exit ramps at mile post 156 about 11 p.m.

Anyone with information on McManus’ whereabouts is encouraged to call Prince William County Crime Solvers at 703-670-3700.

Charges filed in playground sex assault

Police have yet to explain the connection between a 5-year-old male victim and a man now charged with forcible sodomy, and with taking incident liberties with a minor on Tuesday at Featherstone Elementary School in Woodbridge.

A witness to the assault shot a video of the incident, which took place on the school's playground, showing the accused forcing the victim’s hand into his pants, according to News & Messenger. The video, filmed by an onlooker while another witness called police about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, shows the man kissing the child, the newspaper reported. Police have not said if the child is a student at the school.

The school's principal sent a notice home to parents about the incident, though it didn't occur during the school day, Prince William schools spokesman Ken Blackstone told the newspaper.

Police say 19-year-old Frank Devon Harris, of Bowie, Md., is charged in the crime. He was held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court July 28. He was also previously charged in Maryland with disorderly conduct and with disrupting the operation of a school, the News & Messenger reported.

Report finds failings after campus shooting

School officials in a new report say there was a delay in communicaiton following a shooting at a Woodbridge community college campus in December.

After shots were fired at Northern Virginia Community College off Neabsco Mills Road on Dec. 8, it took up to 40 minutes to send voice and text messages to students, faculty and staff informing them of the shooting, and telling them to shelter in place, according to The Fortnightly.

No one was injured, but systems put in place after the deadly 2007 Virginia Tech shootings  - such as a designated operations room that was supposed to provide access to computers, phones and television news channels - were not utilized, the newspaper reported.

The report also shows there was limited access to security camera feeds, and that Prince William police - who were called to immediately after the shooting - were not able to get into the campus’ police office, which hindered their ability to get keys to classrooms, and the get the building's floor plans which were later used in a campus-wide search to ensure everyone had evacuated.

Jason Michael Hamilton, who was 20 at the time of the shooting, is set to appear in court Aug. 16 on an attempted murder charge in connection to the shooting.

Police say the shooter used a high-powered rifle that was purchased at a nearby sporting goods store. After walking into the school building, the gunman then walked into a fourth-floor classroom and fired two shots at a math professor who was standing just feet away from him. The teacher was able to evade the shots, the gun jammed, students fled and the shooter surrendered to police.