Community Corner

Weird News: X-Ray Candy, Lint-Based Vandalism, BB Gun Bandits, Raccoons Under the Weather, and Creeps Dropping Their Pants

Plus, burglars are still talking people out of their homes and, jeesh, creeps are dropping their pants — again!

By Greg Hambrick

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.

Sugary X-Ray Vision. More for entertainment than finding the razor blades in candy apples, Patient First has found an interesting way to get kids to the doctor’s office. The regional medical centers are offering free x-ray imaging of Halloween candy this year. For 2014, we’d suggest lab analysis to see how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop.

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Dryer Lint Delivery. Vienna Police fielded a complaint this week from a homeowner over a dryer repair incident. The resident allegedly got into an argument with the repairmen and later found that the worker left a bag of dryer lint on the homeowner’s doorstep. No word yet on a ransom note for those socks we keep losing. 


Paging Dr. Dolittle. Animal control officers in Alexandria are investigating an unusual illness found in raccoons in the area. Officers are “fairly sure” it isn’t rabies. No telltale bite marks have been found on these ring-tailed bandits. If only the animal world had a drugstore seemingly on every street corner…

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Here to Help? Nope. A crime spree continued in the Northern Virginia area last week, with another homeowner duped into walking out of their home by a supposed utility worker while a second unknown burglar rummaged through the house. The latest incident was in the Fairfax area near Interstate 66 on Oct. 25. The utility impersonator asked for access to the backyard and kept the homeowner distracted while cash was stolen from inside. The water company suggests asking for ID or calling to verify the work request. We’d suggest doing both.


Cracking Up? Nope. Dozens of Fairfax and Centreville area cars were targeted this week by a trigger-happy BB gun owner with lots of ammo. The windows of more than 60 cars were damaged over two nights Monday and Tuesday, including vehicles in Penderbrook, Little Run, Rocky Run, Singleton's Grove, Old Centreville Crossing and the Green Trails communities.


They’re 'Privates' For a Reason. A creepy pervert apparently dressed as a creepy pervert for Halloween this year. Arlington County Police are investigating a report of a man pleasuring himself outside of an apartment building early on Halloween morning. It’s only the latest in a rash of similar exposure incidents in Arlington. "We'd love to catch some of these guys," Lt. Mike Watson said. Ditto.


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