<sh>Bank Robbery
<bt>Fairfax County police are looking for a man who robbed a bank in Centreville, Tuesday morning, and tried unsuccessfully to do the same thing in Reston. Police believe the suspect may have also robbed other banks in the Washington Metropolitan area.
The attempted robbery was at the Bank of America on Sunset Hills Road in Reston. Police say a man approached a teller there, Tuesday, around 9:45 a.m., and demanded money, but she didn't give him any and he left. But he struck pay dirt, around 10:15 a.m., at the Wachovia Bank at 5736 Pickwick Road in Centreville.
Police say the man approached a 28-year-old Manassas woman employed there as a teller and again demanded money. She relinquished an undisclosed amount of cash and the robber fled. The teller was not injured.
In both cases, the suspect is described as white, 25-30, 6 feet, with a thin build and brown hair. He wore a red baseball cap and a long black trenchcoat. Police are continuing to investigate, and anyone with information about these incidents or the suspect involved is asked to call police at 703-691-2131.
<sh>Carjacking Charged
<bt>A 31-year-old man of no fixed address is being held without bond in the Adult Detention Center after a carjacking Saturday night in Centreville's Virginia Run community. The incident happened around 10:50 p.m. at Beckford Way and Eagle Tavern Lane.
According to Fairfax County police, a 51-year-old Centreville man employed as a driver for Pizza Hut was delivering a pizza in that vicinity when his car was struck from behind, reportedly by Andre Griffen. Police say that, as Griffen got out of his car and approached the other vehicle, the delivery man walked to a nearby house to call police.
While the victim was occupied, say police, Griffen and two boys allegedly stole his car. However, after authorities were alerted of the theft, they arrested Griffen a short time later at a nearby gas station. After being interviewed by detectives, he was taken to jail; he has a June 25 court date. If convicted, he could receive as much as 15 years in prison.
As for his alleged accomplices, one is described as white, 16-17 years old, 6 feet 1 inch and 190 pounds; the other is described only as black and also 16-17. Anyone with information about this incident or the two teen-agers is asked to call police at 703-691-2131.
<sh>Auto Theft Arrest
<bt>Fairfax County police arrested a 19-year-old Maryland man last week after an auto theft in Chantilly. He is Jose Constanza-Bonilla of 8186 14th Ave. in Hyattsville. The incident occurred last Wednesday, May 1, around 1 a.m. in the Brookfield community.
Police say a 21-year-old Chantilly man heard his car being driven off, after it had been parked in front of his home of Tabscott Drive. The man called police, who broadcast a lookout for the vehicle to area officers. Officer Cyril Coburn of the Fair Oaks District Station then spotted the car on Route 50, as it was entering I-66.
He stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, who police say was identified as Constanza-Bonilla. Police charged him with grand larceny auto, possession of burglary tools and no valid driver's license. He was held at the Adult Detention Center on $4,500 bond and has a June 19 court date. The auto-theft charge, alone, is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison.
<sh>Qiu is Fined
<bt>Min Zhen Qiu, owner of the Beijing Restaurant at 5635 Stone Road in Centreville, was fined in court last week for illegally possessing and helping sell alcoholic beverages on her restaurant's premises. After observing a waitress there serve alcohol, March 13, an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agent investigated and discovered that the Beijing Restaurant doesn't have a license to sell alcohol on its premises.
He returned March 19, with a search warrant, and confiscated 117 bottles of beer, plus tax and bank documents and customer receipts. The ABC cited Qiu on April 5, and she appeared last Wednesday, May 1, in Fairfax County General District Court before Judge Mark Simmons. He found her guilty of both charges and fined her $150 total — $100 for having alcohol on the premises and $50 for helping sell it.
<sh>Chantilly Community Coalition
<bt>The Chantilly Community Coalition will meet Monday, May 13, at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Chantilly Regional Library. The goal is to keep children safe and drug-free. Call John Hanyok at 703-262-2475.
<sh>Westfield Community Coalition
<bt>The Westfield Community Coalition will meet Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m., in the driver's-education room (N142) at Westfield High. The coalition will evaluate programming during the past year aimed at increasing community awareness of drug and alcohol abuse among teens in our area. It will also plan prevention programs for next year.
Leadership opportunities are available. Coalition meetings are held on the second Monday of the month. Membership and attendance at meetings are free. Call Jennifer Campbell at 703-266-1742.
<sh>Centreville Community Coalition
<bt>The Centreville Community Coalition will meet Tuesday, May 14, at 4:30 p.m. in the Centreville Regional Library. The group will discuss future coalition plans. The coalition needs the public's involvement in keeping this a safe and drug-free community for our children. Call Claire Scerra at 703-378-3554.
<sh>Clarification
<bt>Although a new townhouse community may well begin construction by summer 2003 on the longtime site of the Mulford School in Centreville, the school is not closing. It will remain in business and will be moving to a different location.
<sh>WFCM Personnel Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) has several volunteer positions available.
* It needs a client coordinator to make follow-up calls to members of the community who have recently received assistance. This person would also cross-reference recipients with other WFCM services (food and clothing ministry). It would be a good job for someone who has to stay close to home.
* On-call volunteers are also needed. After receiving training, they'll monitor requests for help, coming from the local community, via a telephone mailbox. There's a social worker on staff, plus an extensive network of support to help and encourage people in self-sufficiency.
* WFCM's food pantry needs volunteers to work Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-2 p.m. To volunteer for any of these positions. or for more information, call 703-378-3045 and leave a message on box 7.
<sh>Food Pantry Needs
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) food pantry is in need of several items. They are: Jelly, coffee, tea, juice boxes, syrup, oil, sugar, cereal, crackers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products and diapers larger than infant and newborn.
The food pantry also needs volunteers, Thursdays, from noon-2 p.m. Needed, as well, are: Volunteers with trucks to help move heavy items, a volunteer handy-person good with phones, copy machines, faxes and thermostats, a volunteer to wash the Shepherd Center glass front entrance, artwork suitable for display in the pantry waiting area, a vacuum, newer-model frost-free refrigerators and a laptop computer.
<sh>Blood Still Needed
<bt>The Inova Blood Donor Center in the Centremed I Building on Route 29 in Centreville (across from the Centreville Multiplex Cinemas) is in urgent need of blood donations — especially O positive or negative. They are accepted Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. To make an appointment to give blood, call (703) 322-1970, or just drop in at your own convenience.
<sh>WFCM Needs Drivers
<bt>The Western Fairfax Christian Ministries is in need of drivers to take elderly people to medical appointments. Call (703) 378-3045 and press 7 to volunteer for this or any other WFCM ministry.
<sh>Meals on Wheels
<bt>The Clifton Meals on Wheels program urgently needs a volunteer to coordinate the delivery of meals to frail, elderly residents. Call the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging at (703) 324-5406.