When Scott Wright told his ex-girlfriend he wanted to meet her last Saturday afternoon, he set in motion a chain of events that would lead to his own arrest less than 24 hours later, according to police reports. The rendezvous took place in the victim’s car parked at the Belleview Shopping Center. Any chance of the meeting ending in reconciliation was ended when Scott angrily grabbed his ex and attempted to cut her with a straight razor. As she struggled to escape his grasp and leave the car, he abandoned the attack, snatched her purse and fled.
The victim reported the incident to the police, and warrants for his arrest were issued and filed. “Her contact [with Mount Vernon Police] put everything in motion for his arrest,” said Lt. Michael Proffitt.
The next morning, Sunday, the victim discovered that her car was missing. She suspected Wright. Later in the afternoon her neighbors in the Rivington Road area noticed Wright driving the stolen Toyota. They “felt that he was driving around the neighborhood hoping to see her,” said Proffitt. They contacted the police, but he cruised out of the neighborhood before they could arrive. However, K-9 officer Michael Gubesch was positioned on Richmond Highway near Fairfax County Parkway and identified the stolen vehicles as Wright drove past. When Gubesch made a U-turn to give chase, Wright sped up. He led Gubesch North on Route 1, turned onto Mount Vernon Memorial highway, then onto Ferry Landing and finally onto Presidential Drive, where he attempted to do a U-turn near Mavis Court. As he did so, Gubesch pulled alongside and executed the precision immobilization technique (PIT) by tapping his front bumper into Wright’s rear panel, causing the car to spin out and Wright to lose control. This is a standard procedure for the Mount Vernon Police Department, according to Proffitt.
Gubesch apprehended Wright after “pitting” him. Wright was charged with abduction, robbery, and attempted malicious wounding after the first incident. Felony speed to elude, driving on a suspended operator’s license, and possession of a controlled substance were added to the list as a result of behavior on Sunday. He is currently being held without bond in an adult detention center.
“What we have is a domestic situation, that just went bad,” Proffit said. “She was extremely lucky to get away unharmed.” He commended her for contacting police about the incident immediately. “We were able to obtain warrants almost immediately and put those warrants on file.” When the next call came, “We were able to get officers into the neighborhood and outside the neighborhood.”
From January to August 2005, Mount Vernon had about 1,000 domestic dispute and violence cases. “Those are the ones that are reported to us,” Proffitt said. “For every domestic violence case it would be safe to say there is one that goes unreported.”
But “having been a police officer for 28 years and seeing how cases were handled in the 1970’s versus how they are handled today, we have made great steps… When I went through my training back in ‘79 we had a week of crisis intervention training. We were told if you had to arrest someone in a family fight you are not doing your job. We have come complete circle. In the late 1980’s Fairfax County started going toward a pro-arrest policy… Domestic violence is not a private family matter, it is a criminal matter. That is how we proceed with them.”
He encouraged all victims of domestic violence to contact the police immediately.