Leesburg, VA
News
El Salvadoran Man With Violent Past Jailed For Leesburg Shooting Over Video Game Console El Salvadoran Man With Violent Past Jailed For Leesburg Shooting Over Video Game Console
El Salvadoran Man With Violent Past Jailed For Leesburg Shooting Over Video Game Console Game over. A man who fired a bullet into a Leesburg teen's bedroom during an argument over a video game has received a harsh sentence above guidelines, authorities announced on Friday. Emerson Josue Martinez Alvarenga, 20, was sentenced in Loudoun County Circuit Court to three years in the Virginia Department of Corrections after being convicted of: Maliciously shooting at an occupied building; Two counts of possession of a firearm by a non-citizen not lawfully present in the United States; Two counts of brandishing a firearm. The charges stem from a June 29, 2023, shooting at a…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Business
These Party City Stores To Shut Down In Maryland, Virginia Amid Massive Closure These Party City Stores To Shut Down In Maryland, Virginia Amid Massive Closure
These Party City Stores To Shut Down In Maryland, Virginia Amid Massive Closure Dozens of Party City locations in the DMV region are among the hundreds set to be closed as the company announced it is going out of business. Both Maryland and Virginia were hit hard by the reported closure, which will impact approximately 800 stores across the country. Party City was founded in 1986 and is the largest retailer of party goods in North America. In Maryland, there are 19 stores among those set to be shut down in these locations, according to the company's website:  Annapolis; Baltimore; Bel Air; Catonsville; Cockeysville; Columbia; Forestville; Frederick; Gaithersb…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Business
Hundreds Of Jobs On The Table As Wegmans Expands With New Location In Rockville Hundreds Of Jobs On The Table As Wegmans Expands With New Location In Rockville
Hundreds Of Jobs On The Table As Wegmans Expands With New Location In Rockville Progress is rolling right along in Montgomery County as Wegmans prepares to open its ninth Maryland location next year.  Applications are now being accepted for the new Rockville store, which is slated to open in late summer 2025 near Rockville Pike and Halpine Road in the Twinbrook Quarter neighborhood. The 80,000-square-foot grocery store is expected to bring upwards of 500 full- and part-time jobs to the community and will be part of the new Twinbrook Quarter development.  For those worried about parking in the area, fear not—Wegmans officials confirmed the location will inclu…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Traffic
Police Identify 52-Year-Old Sterling Motorcyclist Killed In Crash At Leesburg Intersection Police Identify 52-Year-Old Sterling Motorcyclist Killed In Crash At Leesburg Intersection
Police Identify 52-Year-Old Sterling Motorcyclist Killed In Crash At Leesburg Intersection A Sterling man has died following a tragic crash involving a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle at a Leesburg intersection, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). Members of the sheriff's office were called at around 1 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the intersection of Fort Evans Road NE and Forest Spring Drive in Leesburg to investigate the reported crash. The motorcyclist, identified as 52-year-old Ijaumaa Malik McCutcheon, was rushed to an area hospital on Tuesday afternoon, where he later died from injuries sustained in the crash, officials confirmed. The driver of the second veh…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Police & Fire
Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials
Leesburg Barn Blaze Rages Overnight, Threatens Nearby Woods: Fire Officials Firefighters in Loudoun County had their hands full early Tuesday morning, battling a raging barn fire that spread to nearby woods in Leesburg. The blaze was reported just before 2 a.m. in the 43300 block of Spinks Ferry Road. Crews from Lucketts, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Lansdowne, Ashburn, and Frederick County, arrived to find a 40-by-40-foot pole barn fully engulfed in flames, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials said. Flames had already spread to an adjacent wooded area, forcing crews to launch an aggressive exterior attack on both the structure and the wildfire.  The bulk of t…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Police & Fire
Leesburg Launches Volunteer Police Program To Strengthen Safety And Community Ties Leesburg Launches Volunteer Police Program To Strengthen Safety And Community Ties
Leesburg Launches Volunteer Police Program To Strengthen Safety And Community Ties In a bold move to enhance public safety and community collaboration, the Leesburg Town Council has greenlit a new Auxiliary Police Officer (APO) Program that will recruit trained volunteers to support the town’s police department. The program, approved unanimously on Wednesday, Nov. 20, is set to bring a fresh wave of community engagement by allowing auxiliary officers to assist with public events, traffic control, and emergencies. “This program will allow community members to play an active role in supporting our department,” said Leesburg Police Chief Thea Pirnat. “We are grateful to the …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Cherry Hill, NJ
Business
Roy Rogers Opening In Cherry Hill, Making South Jersey Comeback After 40 Years Roy Rogers Opening In Cherry Hill, Making South Jersey Comeback After 40 Years
Roy Rogers Opening In Cherry Hill, Making South Jersey Comeback After 40 Years A fast-food chain known for its roast beef sandwiches and fried chicken will return to South Jersey, opening its first restaurant in the region in four decades, officials said. Roy Rogers Restaurants will open a new location in Cherry Hill in the spring of 2025, the company said in a news release. The chain signed a lease for a 3,300-square-foot space on Haddonfield Road. The company said the restaurant will be the only burger drive-thru on the busy road. "We could not be happier to bring our [U.S. Department of Agriculture] choice top round roast beef, juicy burgers, and fresh, …

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Leesburg, VA
Police & Fire
Smash-and-Grab: Suspects Shatter Leesburg Jewelry Store Front, Flee With Loot, Police Say Smash-and-Grab: Suspects Shatter Leesburg Jewelry Store Front, Flee With Loot, Police Say
Smash-and-Grab: Suspects Shatter Leesburg Jewelry Store Front, Flee With Loot, Police Say A high-end jewelry store in Leesburg became the target of a smash-and-grab burglary early Tuesday morning, leaving investigators searching for three suspects who shattered the store’s front window and made off with stolen goods. At approximately 1:33 a.m. on Nov. 19, police say that officers responded to White & Ivory Fine Jewelry, on Village Market Boulevard SE, for reports of a burglary.  Upon arrival, they discovered the store’s front window had been broken, and an undisclosed amount of jewelry was missing, according to the Leesburg Police Department. Surveillance footage captu…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Traffic
Pedestrian Critically Injured In 'Serious' Leesburg Crash: Police (DEVELOPING) Pedestrian Critically Injured In 'Serious' Leesburg Crash: Police (DEVELOPING)
Pedestrian Critically Injured In 'Serious' Leesburg Crash: Police (Developing) One person suffered critical injuries in what police described as a "serious crash" in Leesburg on Friday morning. Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 15, first responders were called to the area of Catoctin Circle SE and South King Street, where there were multiple reports of a pedestrian who was struck by a Ford pick-up truck. According to the Leesburg Police Department, upon arrival, officers provided aid until the pedestrian could be rushed to an area hospital with "critical injuries."  Officials noted that the driver remained at the scene and assisted with investigators. The crash i…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
White Plains, NY
Business
TGI Fridays Files For Bankruptcy Weeks After Sudden Closures Of At Least 12 Restaurants TGI Fridays Files For Bankruptcy Weeks After Sudden Closures Of At Least 12 Restaurants
TGI Fridays Files For Bankruptcy Weeks After Sudden Closures Of At Least 12 Restaurants Casual dining chain TGI Fridays has filed for bankruptcy several weeks after at least 12 of its restaurants suddenly closed. The company filed the Chapter 11 petition on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Texas, near its Dallas headquarters. Founded in New York City in 1965, TGI Fridays has 95 restaurants in the US, 39 of which the company owns and operates. The other 56 are independent franchises not involved in the bankruptcy petition. The company said that all those locations will remain open. According to the TGI Fridays website and other reports, the following locations are now listed as permanent…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Ashburn, VA
Police & Fire
Road-Raging Driver Who 'Terrorized' Father In Leesburg Finds Out Fate At Sentencing Road-Raging Driver Who 'Terrorized' Father In Leesburg Finds Out Fate At Sentencing
Road-Raging Driver Who 'Terrorized' Father In Leesburg Finds Out Fate At Sentencing A driver who was too fast and too furious is set to spend years behind bars in Virginia after a road rage incident involving a father and son in Loudoun County last fall.  Ricardo Osiel Avilez Blanco, 28, was sentenced to serve eight years in the Virginia Department of Corrections with no time suspended for an attempted malicious wounding charge dating back to an episode that ended in the parking lot of Heritage High School in October 2023. According to prosecutors, on Oct. 14, 2023, a man was driving with his son in Leesburg when Avilez Blanco began to tailgate and aggressively f…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
News
'Significant Risk To Community' 'Deserves Every Minute' Of Sentence In Leesburg: Prosecutor 'Significant Risk To Community' 'Deserves Every Minute' Of Sentence In Leesburg: Prosecutor
'Significant Risk To Community' 'Deserves Every Minute' Of Sentence In Leesburg: Prosecutor A man described as "a significant risk to the community" will spend nearly two decades in prison, prosecutors in Loudoun County announced on Thursday. Lorenzo Arnez Green, 39, who has a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced to 18 years in prison with no time suspended after being convicted on a host of charges following an incident that played out while he was on probation. Specifically, Green was convicted of:  Two counts of possession with the. intent to distribute a Schedule I or II controlled substance; Possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance; Possession of a fire…

SHARE

by Zak Failla