Community Corner

Weird News: Toll Trouble, Harry Potter Sports, Biting Perps and a Shopping Squirrel

Plus, woman seeks store credit for stolen merchandise.

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings-on over the past week.

By Greg Hambrick

Toll Trouble: It may be “E-Z.” But that doesn’t mean it is free. A Reston man says he’ll be doling out monthly payments into his 80s after receiving a $200,000 bill for traveling on the Dulles Toll Road overnight while booths were unattended. He worked out a settlement for roughly $40,000, plus interest and fines, with a payment plan of $150 a month.

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Potter Scores: One man’s kitchen broom is another man’s sports equipment. The Quidditch Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship came to Northern Virginia this weekend. It is a real game based on the fictional flying broom challenges in the Harry Potter series. Organizers promised spirited play from teams across the region, along with “kidditch” opportunities for aspiring Quidditch athletes. Next up, Thunderdome.

Squirrel Shopping: It is a staple in the retail business: opening the door on a pleasant day to be more welcoming to passersby. So, when a squirrel walks by and spots something slimming in the window, of course it’ll step in and check the price tag. Alexandria Animal Control was dispatched to capture the unwanted customer in the unidentified King Street shop and sent it back to the wild without a purchase.

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Theft #Fail: Here’s a quick snapshot of recent theft reports in Fredericksburg. A tattoo parlor noted someone broke in overnight and couldn’t get into the cash drawer, so they stole the whole register. A woman would have been happy to take store credit for three items she was returning to the Home Depot, but the loot had been reported stolen. And Walmart managers called police when a man walked away with three chainsaws from the garden center.

Crime Bites: Herndon Police arrested a local man for assault and biting when a victim reported that the man threw a rock through a car window, pushed the victim to the ground and took a bite. Chainsaw thefts and now vampires? This is November, people. Save it for October 2014.

(Really) Bad to the Bone: How does one top a “drunk in public” charge? By assaulting an officer and damaging the police cruiser. An Alexandria man was arrested for all three in an incident Nov. 16. And that’s how an “I was sooo drunk” story becomes an “I don’t want to talk about it” story.

Stop. Just Stop: Arlington police say a drunken teenager crashed into multiple cars early Wednesday and ran over an officer's foot in a bizarre incident that ended with a DUI arrest.  Authorities were called after an 18-year-old allegedly tried to drive his Chrysler 300 up a hill into an apartment complex's common area and failed (twice), causing him to roll backward into a vehicle. The police description of what followed sounds like the Griswold family taking to bumper cars.


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