A Rape In Sterling
September 2nd, 2008 by joe
Outrage.
The Loudoun County government is screwed, and needs to be eviscerated, burned down, and replaced. Something happened in Sterling Thursday night which should make every resident of Loudoun County wonder what the hell is going on with our Sheriff’s Office and our zoning enforcement “team”.
I will tell you in the next paragraph what actually happened, from conversations with someone who happens to know the victim, and below the fold is what the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office deigns to reveal. Please notice the differences.
Late Thursday night, August 28 (early Friday morning, August 29) around midnight, a large, Spanish-speaking male knocked down the door at a house on Ironwood Road in Sterling, occupied by a woman in her early 70s. The man had a very large knife. He shouted at the woman “I am going to cut you to bits! I am going to cut you to bits!” He slashed her numerous times with the knife. He beat her, and forced her into a position where he was poised to rape her, but at the last moment suffered a “performance” problem and could not complete the act. He fled. The woman called 911, but by the time law enforcement showed up the attacker could not be found.
The neighborhood in which this incident occurred, in the area of Ironwood Road, Redwood Road, and Greenthorne Avenue, is one of the worst-hit in Sterling by illegal aliens. I have spent some time driving through the area over the past couple years and I can attest that it is terrible, with numerous residences displaying the signs of illegal flophouses, including screen doors propped open (signifies “rooms for rent”), lots of cars per residence, plenty of signs of MS-13 activity, and a generally crappy atmosphere. I am told by people familiar with zoning enforcement complaints that the area has been the subject of many overcrowding complaints sent to the completely non-functional Loudoun County Department of Building and Development (aka, the Black Hole), and, as we have established, it is apparently just another section designated for Loudoun County Government-sponsored blight.
From everything I have seen, submitting an overcrowding complaint from Sterling is pointless because Terry Wharton’s department gets paid to do absolutely nothing. Here’s an interesting question about Wharton’s “Department”: How much could we save if we just fire them all - and I mean all? Let’s have no “Department” and, on the rare occasion such a “Department” would actually need to do some work, we could hire subcontractors. It might not be perfect, but it also would not cost us any money to have sections of our neighborhood allowed to be cesspools. I mean, if cesspools are deemed necessary, then let’s not be paying the salaries of Loudoun County “zoning enforcement” staff. Not add insult to injury, as it were.
But while we can and should point fingers at Terry Wharton’s miserable farce of a government agency, and by extension we should ask what the hell our county supervisors and county administrator are doing by allowing the blight to fester here, and why the citizens have not yet marched with torches and pitchforks on all of the above, the biggest question of all is:
What is our Sheriff’s Office doing? Or rather, what are they NOT doing?
Or further: Who the hell is letting the LCSO get away with what they are getting away with?
I point you to below the fold - the “alert” helpfully provided by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. This is all the citizens have seen, and frankly the only citizens who have seen it are those who are on the e-mail list (I am not) and those who happen to read the report in whatever local paper happened to reprint the news release. It is a completely whitewashed version of the incident, which almost no one in Sterling will even get to read. It indicates the attacker “spoke with an accent.”
Hey, friends, that is a bit inaccurate. In fact, it attempts to erase from the incident report the basic fact the attacker was a Hispanic in an area where Hispanic criminals might well be considered a key problem in the neighborhood. It also tones down the severity of the attack.
Bottom line? In my view, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to hide the facts of the incident.
In short, no one - no one official in Loudoun County - cares. What a fricking disgrace. Hey, friends: Maybe now you understand why we wanted Greg Ahlemann to be our Sheriff.
The neighborhood area beset by illegals, and a vicious sexual attack by a Hispanic male, are facts that are being swept under the rug. The LCSO is not doing ANY community outreach to warn the residents of Sterling Park. The local media are NOT investigating the incident - they never managed to get the info I have, which is hard to believe.
Why is the Loudoun County Government not conducting a major communications offensive to alert residents that they need to be on the watch for Hispanic males who may be trying to do home invasions? Why are the LCSO and “zoning enforcement” allowed to not do their jobs?
Our county government is broken. We need to fire all of them and start over again.
—– Original Message —– From: “Loudoun Sheriff”
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 11:58 AM
Subject: LCSO Investigates Burglary & Sexual Assault of Elderly Woman in Sterling Overnight Friday
Loudoun County, Virginia- The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a reported burglary and sexual assault in Sterling, VA. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division is working to determine if this case is related to a series of prowler and burglary cases in Ashburn and Leesburg.
Around midnight Friday the suspect entered a residence on Ironwood Road by forcing entry through a door. The suspect then confronted an elderly female resident. The suspect brandished a knife and sexually assaulted the victim. The suspect fled from the house.
The victim contacted authorities at approximately 12:27 AM. Sheriff’s Deputies quickly established a perimeter in the area. A ground search was conducted by a K9 unit and an aerial search was conducted by the Fairfax County Police helicopter. No suspect was located.
The victim was treated and released from INOVA Fairfax Hospital this morning for treatment for minor injuries. The suspect is described as a large male who spoke with an accent.
The agency is encouraging residents to report any suspicious activity or persons to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021. The agency is also reminding residents to lock all doors and windows. If you have information on any of these cases you are asked to contact the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475. If the caller wishes to remain anonymous they are asked to contact Loudoun County Crime Solvers. If the information leads to an arrest and indictment, the caller could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 12:45 am and is filed under Community, Sterling Crime Wave, immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:22 am
Joe, we over at the Loudoun Community Association are with you on this one. Most of us are on the sheriff’s email alert system thanks to Cathymac and received the report of this incident early Friday morning. Sentinel was involved in the search for the perpetrator and provided a first hand account on the LCA page.
Has anyone over here received a reply from zoning to their overcrowding complaints from back in July since the meeting? I have not and since I submitted my complaint with photos to back it up and then submitted an email requesting zoning’s findings asking what penalty had been assessed and received no response; I’m hoppin’ mad.
I did have reason to visit with a sheriff about the house next door, however, because while I was gone on vacation, one of the boarders plowed my mailbox up into the front yard with a van/truck. What’s a couple more hundred dollars of property damage, right? After viewing the blankets stuffed into the windows and hearing some of the history of the house, the sheriff, who had come from two patrol districts away, spent a long time here trying to figure out what could be done. Not all law enforcement personnel turn a blind eye to what is happening down here.
I encourage everyone to come out to the next BOD public hearing. Maybe Supervisor York would like to explain why consideration of the overcrowding fine ordinance has been “deferred.” The zoning department is making a presentation to the BOD regarding the two streets singled out for its attention back in 2007. It seems that either there really was no zoning issue over there after all or that residents on those blocks cleaned it up and emptied out their boarders before zoning came calling. Maybe the victim of the crime you described, or someone acting on her behalf, would like to inform the supervisors that their motion planning a walk through SP to observe the community at the ground level is too little, too late, and that something needs to be done down here NOW.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:34 am
Outrage says it all.
I sent the BOS the following email minutes ago.
Might I suggest everyone do the same. To say this is getting out of control would be an understatement.
Dear Supervisors:
Find below commentary detailing the worsening conditions in Sterling Park.
The collective dithering of this board and its overall failure to act is bordering on a dereliction of duty. Your failure to deal with Loudouns broken Zoning Department is not only prolonging problems, but in fact playing an active part in the worsening conditions for a large cross section of Loudoun citizens.
We as residents fully understand the areas of responsibility. We are not advocating this board handle issues of law enforcement. However, we are demanding this board take full responsibility for the absolute failures of this counties government. This zoning department has created an overall environment where illegal activity flourishes. Issues surrounding the poor performance of this department have been brought to this boards attention time and time again with little or no action.
For this board to have any credibility, Terry Wharton must be replaced with a professional administrator interested in honest reform and the overall protection of Loudouns lawful citizens. This county can no longer afford to have such an important agency run by an administrator more concerned with the sensibilities of Illegal Migrants over the rights of lawful tax paying residents.
Regards
Greg Stone
Help Save Loudoun
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 am
BTW- The commentary mentioned in my opening remarks was Joe’s attached article.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 am
The attack on this 70 year old woman should be waking people up. However it will be swept under the rug. Why, because it would involve too much for agencies to handle.
No one agency wants to take response ability for the area. It has grown too large to handle. Just what the illegals have wanted..
The gangs want to control it, thus they are..
Just like back in home country.
As for Loudoun County Sheriff’s Dept,
They have to work for Simpson.
Moral at the LCSO cannot be at an all time high with Simpson being in his 3rd term. Regardless, the men and women have a responsibility to their job despite who’s the boss.
If Simpson had implemented the ICE training years ago and put it in full force than Loudoun Country may not have the problem they have today with illegal’s, gangs and crime running rampant thought out Sterling.
Perhaps Loudoun County should follow in Prince William county example in ending services to illegals. After all, Loudoun country received those illegals from Prince William and look what’s happened.
If the residents got off their asses and voted, just maybe there would be responsible people who care about the county They live in, working in the elected offices, instead of the familiar faces that were re-elected that should not have been. I also believe there should be an audit done on all the county offices. Where is the money going to? Why the high increases of taxes year after year?
We as Americans need to take back our nation, period.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
What is truly sick about Loudoun Building and Development :
expenses :
2005 budget : $15,545,954
2008 budget : $23,000,000
local tax funding (expenses minus revenues):
2005 : $(5,943,729)
2008 : $6,418,000
The increase in the cost to LoCo taxpayers of this department is $12.3 million in just 3 years !!!
Source :
http://www.loudoun.gov/controls/speerio/resources/RenderContent.aspx?data=fbc8050a2cae4ef69378a0713cf868c5&tabid=326
This is becoming the norm for Loudoun, expenses rising to the moon, and little or no support for those footing the bill.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Joe, how do you know the suspect is Hispanic? Because he spoke with a possible Spanish accent? That is not enough to go on. There are no descriptions that say the suspect is Hispanic in any of these cases? Just so you know the suspect has not just hit in Sterling. He has also hit in Ashburn and Leesburg. Maybe the Sheriff’s Department does not want to have what happened in the DC sniper case. Remember everyone was looking for a white van when really the two were driving a Caprice!!
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
This is ridiculous. And I would be thinking that B&D budget demands would be going way down with the huge drop in construction. You would think they would be laying off people, or at least re-assigning building inspectors to zoning enforcement. This sounds like willful disregard of the problem. Pathetic.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Truthseeker, the woman who was attacked said the attacker was Hispanic and spoke Spanish, and the LCSO elected not to release that information. That is the main point of this post. Sorry if I did not make it clearly enough.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
LI,
Yes, I believe the construction drop explains the drop in revenues at B&D, but it would appear that B&D has not adjusted head count or administrative costs proportionately.
With the decrease in construction in the county, one would think this is a prime area to shift budget from to strengthen LCSO, or as you point out, zoning.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Truthseeker,
Since you mentioned the sniper, two black men in a blue Chevy were seen leaving the scene of the Wheaton shooting. This fact was mentioned to Montgomery County Police, but they failed to give this due diligence because these two suspects were the wrong color.
Is the same thing happening here ? Does seem to be a pretty strong parallel.
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 am
A Loudoun Community Association writer says I am being too hard on the Sheriff. Ok, point taken, people will have different impressions of how well the LCSO functions.
I still don’t see the justification for hiding the facts that the attacker was Hispanic, he smashed through the front door, and the woman was slashed up. For one thing, knowing this might inspire more single women to reinforce their front doors and have defensive devices that go bang. It also might have SPELLED OUT THE TRUTH about who committed the crime, after all.
I was circulating flyers in the apartments on Greenthorne after the shootings took place a couple years ago and a resident came out and told me about a stabbing that had taken place in a fight between Latino men which never made it into any police or news reports. This burying of certain events is disturbing, a trend some of us in Sterling are sensitive to because of what we have seen.
http://www.novatownhall.com/blog/2007/05/the_problem_with_loudouns_sher.php
But the writer has a good point, that more citizens should be involved in Neighborhood Watch activities, and the Sheriff’s Office may not have the resources it needs to do its job in eastern Loudoun.
http://loudouncommunity.org/9401.html?entryId=f1f642c2d538939dd3248fc220779468
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:58 am
i live 5 mins from where this happened and im so scare i cant even slee right, im so paranoid every night because no 1 is doing anything to find this guy i’ll sleep and feel better when he is caught
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:30 am
Interesting LCA post and does bring a different perspective.
I just want to point out, in case anyone should think otherwise, that any complaints made are against the dept heads and not the deputies. Most of the deputies we have dealt with have been terrific and all are to be commended and thanked for putting their lives on the line.
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:50 am
Thanks Joe for posting the LCA post, I was going to do the same. I know Sentinel has a valuable perspective on this particular issue given their level of involvement and experience in all things SP related.
The amount of information that can be handed out to citizens about a specific crime is always a contentious issue, I see both sides of it. I won’t defend blatant PCism in alerting the public on any crime by the PIO (Public Information Office), anymore than I would condone blaming a patrolman for not handing out a description of a suspect at the crime scene. Policies governing this type of information vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and I suspect if someone were to inquire as to why information (if known) was not included in a press release, the reason given would be “departmental policy” - for good or bad.
I think the lesson here, and I am pretty sure Sentinel and Joe would concur, is that there is a level of complacency in our community that enables crimes and ordinance violations to flourish. The complacency extends to our BOS as well, which is why it is so important to let your voice be heard.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. I really have to say thanks again to Sentinel and Joe for getting information out there, starting a dialogue and becoming involved. Without these 2, I don’t think I would even be boring y’all with this post:)
September 4th, 2008 at 12:57 am
[…] What do you know, another incident in Sterling with a person menacing an elderly woman, and the only public announcement sent out by e-mail which only a fraction of Sterling residents receive. Excluding me, for instance, although I am a “tech guy” I am not on the list for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announcements. So it is safe to assume a lot of people in Sterling will get no information about this incident just like they got no information about last week’s incident. […]
September 4th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Joe
Anyone who wishes can subscribe to the sheriff’s alert system and receive notification of incidents ranging from traffic accidents to crime at https://alert.loudoun.gov/index.php?CCheck=1.
In my opinion, the sheriff’s alert regarding the most recent home invasion minimized the incident to the point where recipients might have come away with the impression that the 911 call placed by the victim was the result of her imagination and not a crime in progress.
In light of radio broadcasts indicating that Loudoun authorities are warning residents of a Peeping Tom, I cannot thank you enough for presenting the victim’s description of the incident here.
September 10th, 2008 at 6:59 am
jalisa - Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly teaches firearm safety classes. Take one, then get a gun for home-defense. Get your carry permit - the county must issue you one if you are not a felon. Sad to say, but these days I only answer my door w/ gun in hand, or at least on my hip, and have had to use it twice (thankfully no shots fired) to convince miscreants to leave.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Loudoun County, Virginia- The Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a violent criminal who is wanted for an August 29th burglary and sexual assault in Sterling, VA.
Martin Jose Morales-Mancia, 24, of no fixed address, is wanted by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly entering a residence of a senior citizen on Ironwood Road. Inside he brandished a knife and sexually assaulted the female victim.
Morales-Mancia, also goes by the first name Arnold or Jose, is a light skinned Hispanic male. He is described as being 5’9” tall and weighs 170 pounds.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Morales-Mancia, you are asked to immediately contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021 or your local police department. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. If the information leads to the suspect’s apprehension the caller could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000.
Authorities are asking residents to never approach the subject as he is considered dangerous.
—-
http://www.loudoun.gov/controls/speerio/resources/RenderContent.aspx?data=e3c40e2aa1c3490ebfdb54605aa3013c&tabid=330&fmpath=%2fNews+Releases
September 11th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Shockingly, they have gone way out on a limb and asserted that Sr. Morales-Mancia is alleged to be hispanic.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Well gee, is that a jailhouse jumpsuit he is wearing in the photos ? Curious if it was LCSO that had him.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:58 am
[…] person who committed the rape in Sterling last week has been identified by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, […]
September 16th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I, for one, am relieved that the LCSO know’s who this criminal is and is after him. I recently moved back to this area to help out my mother who has lived in SP for 20 years. She has been terrified. I knew that the LCSO was looking for someone in the neighborhood last week because a friend who was visiting called on his cell after leaving to tell me the police had a Dragnet set at the end of Greenthorn.
Does anyone know if anyone in the neighborhood has tried to start a neighborhood watch? I for one would like to get involved. I am not interested in going after zoning violations, but I am very much interested the safety of my mother, and therfore, by extension, my neigbors as well.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Matt, FYI, he is in custody:
http://novatownhall.com/2008/09/14/sterling-rape-suspect-in-custody/
September 16th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
hank you for that, Linda
September 17th, 2008 at 2:12 am
[…] is also inclined to allow us to procure guns and ammunition to blast the hell out of the bad guys when they attempt to break into our homes? Do we want another Clinton gun ban or […]
September 17th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Joe,
Thanks for your inside report of the home invasion incident.
Now that the suspect has been captured, there are a few questions that beg to be answered:
1. How was he identified as a suspect? Was there a connection between him and the victim? Did she know him?
2. His address is given as: No Fixed Address. Was he homeless? Was he living with friends? Was he living in the woods? Where?
3. If he was homeless, was he being provided services by the Good Shepherd Alliance (GSA)?
4. The Ironwood Road address is within a couple blocks of the W&OD Bike Trail. Many/Most of the recent prowler incidents also occurred in areas close to the W&OD. In addition, the new GSA homeless “facility” is located a block from the trail. Was this suspect a “client” of the GSA facility?
If you have any more inside info, it would be very interesting to get answers to these questions.
Thanks.
Old Ashburn Lover