A man suspected of a knifepoint robbery on Columbia Pike was taken into custody early this morning (Wednesday) after police say he evaded arrest and barricaded himself in his girlfriend’s apartment.
Rattana Long, a 29-year-old Ashburn resident, was captured by SWAT team members and charged with assault on a police officer. Robbery charges are pending.
Arlington County Police say a man fitting Long’s description robbed a store on the 5000 block of Columbia Pike around 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Despite a search, police were not able to locate him after he fled.
“A subject brandished a knife and stole cash from a register in a store in Columbia Pike Plaza,” according to the police report. “The subject fled through a rear door.”
Last night, a plainclothes ACPD officer spotted Long near the original robbery scene. The officer called for backup, but Long resisted arrest, assaulted a police officer and fled the area, according to Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
Long was tracked to the 4500 block of Four Mile Run Drive, where he allegedly barricaded himself and hid in his girlfriend’s apartment. Police negotiators and the county’s SWAT team responded, closing part of Four Mile Run Drive in the process.
Witnesses tell ARLnow.com that police used a loudspeaker in an effort to get Long to answer the phone and lure him out of the apartment. When that didn’t work, shortly after 2:00 a.m., SWAT team members entered the apartment and were able to take him into custody without further incident, Sternbeck said.
Photos courtesy @annddayy and ACPD
