POLICE ARREST FOUR IN STABBING DEATH
Helicopters from Fairfax County police and the U.S. Park Service circled overhead early Monday, as Arlington police and K-9 officers looked for Francisco Moreno’s attackers.
“It was very good police work, in terms of establishing a perimeter,” said Arlington Police Chief Douglas Scott.
At about 1 a.m. on Monday, June 16, Moreno, a 24-year old Arlington resident, lay bleeding on South Four Mile Run Drive, from stab wounds that proved fatal. His assailants fled before officers arrived, but police believe they didn’t get far.
Officers arrested Oscar Hernandez-Guerrero, 25, Martir Antoio Solis-Lara, 24, and Jose S. Hernandez-Guerrero, 21, about a quarter-mile from where Moreno was stabbed. They are being held without bond at the county Detention Facility.
Officers soon began questioning the three, hoping they would give up the identity of a fourth accomplice, Scott said Monday evening. Interrogations may have paid off. Later on Monday, Fairfax County Police officers arrested 20-year old Marvin Perez based on information from Arlington detectives. Perez and the other three suspects, all Falls Church residents, are now charged with murder.
According to Scott, on Sunday night Moreno and another man, likely already drunk, tried to enter a Columbia Pike bar that had just closed Moreno insulted an employee at the bar, who denied him entrance. A group of men standing in the parking lot were upset by something Moreno said, and came after him and the other victim. Police believe those men are the four now in custody.
The victims ran but could not escape their attackers. During the “melee,” Scott said, someone drew a knife and stabbed both Moreno and his companion.
Arlington County paramedics transported both men to the hospital, where Moreno died. The other man was treated for injuries that were not life threatening. Police have not released the name of the second victim because he is a potential witness in Moreno’s death. Detective John Ritter, a spokesperson for the police department, said the suspects did not know Moreno or the other victim.
Detectives are still investigating the incident and are seeking information from anyone who may have witnessed the crime. Anyone with information should call detective Andy Penn at 703-228-4199 or Arlington County Crime Solvers at 703-522-TIPS or 800-673-2777. Callers to Crime Solvers may remain anonymous, do not have to testify in court and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
CORRECTION
The story “Recognizing Affordable Housing” (June 11) should have said that Columbia Grove, the latest acquisition by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, is currently open for residents. A September event will celebrate the APAH’s acquisition of the building.