Constituents Chat
<bt>Chris West, regional representative of U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), will have office hours March 15, at the Loudoun County Government Building, 1 Harrison St., S.E., Leesburg, from 1-3 p.m. Constituents can discuss issues facing the area or seek help with problems with a federal agency. Call West, 703-244-7261.
<sh>Hazardous Waste Collection
<bt>The Loudoun County Office of Solid Waste Management announces the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection event schedule for 2006. All events are on a Saturday, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The events are free and for Loudoun County residents only.
The first event of the year will be held Saturday, March 18, at
Heritage High School in Leesburg. Two new locations have been added to the schedule in an effort to meet the growing needs of county residents: Freedom High School in South Riding on June 10 and Harmony Intermediate School in Hamilton Oct. 21. Other events will be held April 22,
May 10, July 15, Sept. 16, and Nov. 18 at various locations. The complete schedule, a list of accepted items and disposal tips are available on the county government Web site at www.loudoun.gov/oswm/hhw.htm or call the Office of Solid Waste Management at 703-777-0187.
<sh>'Cell Phone Bandit' Sentenced
<bt>A judge sentenced Candice Martinez, the so-called cell phone bandit, to 12-years in prison Friday, March 3, in federal court in Alexandria.
The case against Martinez, 20, gained international notoriety after the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office released bank surveillance video of the Chantilly woman robbing a bank while using her cell phone. Martinez pleaded guilty in December to federal bank robbery conspiracy and firearms charges.
Her boyfriend Dave Williams was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison the previous Friday. Williams also pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy and firearms charges. Williams was on the other end of the phone with Martinez during three of the four robberies. In the last bank robbery Martinez entered the Ashburn Wachovia Bank on the evening of Nov. 4 and displayed a firearm that was in her purse. That weapon was recovered by Sheriff's investigators in a home of a family member.
Martinez was apprehended 11 days later in a residence in the Centreville area of Fairfax County. Loudoun and Fairfax counties had issued warrants for her arrest in connection with two bank robberies in Northern Virginia.
Working together, investigators from the Fairfax County Police Department, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, Prince William County Police Department, Town of Vienna Police Department and the FBI followed up on tips and information provided to authorities after extensive local and national media exposure of the series of bank robberies.
<sh>Accident Kills Teen
<bt>A Falls Church teenager lost his life Sunday, March 5, after a single-vehicle crash on Route 50 between the towns of Middleburg and Aldie.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Richard Thomas Fatkin, 18, was heading west on Route 50 near Potts Mill Road shortly before noon when he attempted to pass a horse trailer being
pulled by an SUV. According to witnesses, Fatkin crossed a double, solid yellow line in his 1989 Honda at a high rate of speed. As he was passing the horse trailer driving west in the eastbound lane Fatkin had to make an aggressive maneuver to return to the westbound lane because of an oncoming vehicle. The teenager lost control of his car and crashed into a tree where it became engulfed in flames. Fatkin was pronounced dead at the scene.
Route 50 was shutdown in both directions between Cobb House Road and Oakham Way for nearly five hours.