Community Corner

Weird Virginia/DC: Honey 'Boo Boo' Pays a Visit, a Pepper-Spraying Shoplifter and Naked at the Bus Stop

Plus: A moseying turtle and an epidemic of 911 butt-dialing.

by Mary Ann Barton

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.

Herndon Gunslinger

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The fireworks over the Mall may have subsided from last week, but they continued in Northern Virginia this week as police served a warrant on a gun rights activist in Herndon who was trying to declare his own freedom…from DC gun laws.

This week, gun rights activist Adam Kokesh refused to cooperate with police during a bond hearing Thursday morning on drug and weapons charges. Officers had to put him in a wheelchair to get him in front of the detention center cameras for his arraignment, and he reportedly refused to have his fingerprints or photo taken, according to a WTOP report.

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Slurpee Smashup

File this one under “no good deed goes unpunished.” This week a Manassas Park grandmother drove four children to a 7-Eleven at 9 p.m. so they could enjoy Slurpees on Free Slurpee Day only to find out the promotion had ended two hours earlier. Not only did they leave empty-handed, but she crashed the car into two other cars in the parking lot and one of the children ended up with a broken collar bone.

'But Officer...'

Speaking of emergencies, did you know that all over Fairfax County (and likely the rest of Northern Virginia and DC), at any given moment, someone is “butt dialing” 911? It’s a huge problem, Steve McMurrer, 911 systems administrator for Fairfax County, told Patch this week. The county receives about a million 911 calls a year, but is not officially tracking how many of those are accidental calls, McMurrer said--but they probably number in the thousands.

Summer reading?

There was something of a 911 situation over in McLean this week when Honey Boo Boo, the sassy little Southern TV star, dropped by to greet fans. TLC's Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson greeted fans at Tysons Corner Center to promote a new book. The nation's most famous 7-year-old greeted fans Thursday and signed copies of a new children's book, How to Honey Boo Boo: The Complete Guide on How to Redneckognize the Honey Boo Boo in You.

A Turtle Toddle

In Alexandria, pandemonium didn’t quite break out at a Honey Boo Boo level, but there was a bit of excitement when a turtle came strolling past several shops and restaurants July 2 in Cameron Station.  It seems even reptiles can’t resist the charms of Cameron Station.  

An Alexandria Animal Control officer responded to a call involving a snapping turtle that was making its way past shops and restaurants in the 4900 block of Brenman Park Drive. The turtle, which had emerged from a nearby lake, gave the officer no trouble. Instead of eluding the officer’s net, the turtle happily walked right into it and was returned to its home.

Waiting for the bus...in the buff?

Over in Kingstowne, police probably wish they'd had a net to drop over this guy. A man in the Landmark area has reportedly been exposing himself to women at a bus stop, according to police. Tuesday, police responded to a report of a man who exposed himself around 7 a.m. at a bus stop near Little River Turnpike and Oasis Drive, Fairfax County Police say, and they believe this may be connected to other, similar incidents recently.

Pepper-spraying Shopper

We’ve heard of police officers subduing unruly suspects, but a shoplifter pepper-spraying store employees? It happened at Saks’ Off 5th in Woodbridge, where a shoplifter pepper-sprayed two workers on the Fourth of July, after they confronted him about stealing $1,300 worth of merchandise. Derrick Kiwan Brown, 27, of Kenilworth Avenue, is wanted for two counts of malicious injury by caustic substance and one count of grand larceny.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Lake Ridge-Occoquan