After responding to a call early yesterday morning, Metropolitan Police Department officers apprehended James Arthur Bush for sexually assaulting a woman on the sidewalk of the 2000 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

The 26 year-old female victim “resisted her assailant,” according to an email written by MPD Commander Matt Klein.

Bush, a 55 year-old homeless man, was arrested shortly after the assault in the area of 35th Street and S Street. He was charged with third degree sexual assault, which Klein defined as “inappropriate touching.”

On Thursday between 1:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., a home on the 3800 block of S Street was burglarized, according to a Public Safety Alert sent out on Saturday afternoon.

The residents, who are not affiliated with the University, discovered evidence of the burglary on Thursday morning at approximately 10:30 a.m. The unknown suspects entered the home through an unlocked rear door, and then stole “a laptop, credit cards, and two televisions.”

The burglary is the second reported in the area in as many months. Last September, unknown suspects burglarized a home on the 3600 block of T Street after entering through an open ground-floor window.

Think only students got busted for marijuana in Georgetown?

Burleith resident Howard Arenstein, a CBS Radio News correspondent and Bob Dylan look-alike, and his wife Orly Azoulay, a Washington correspondent for Yedioth Ahronoth, were arrested on Saturday for possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

The couple, who live on the 3500 block of T Street, were growing the cannabis plants in their backyard. After Arenstein allegedly bragged about the plans, a neighbor filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police Department’s vice unit. A search of the house unearthed 11 mature, eight-foot tall plants—which can each produce a pound of marijuana—as well as prepackaged, two-ounce bags inside the house.

According to CBS News, Arenstein has covered the 2000 presidential election, September 11th attacks, the War in Iraq, and the D.C. sniper shootings during his time as a news correspondent and CBS Radio Bureau Manager.

If convicted, Arenstein and Azoulay could face up to a year in prison and $10,000 in fines.

Photo: Juliana Brint

How many times have you crossed Reservoir Road on your way to Burleith and (in the daylight) wondered at the modern mansion sitting smack dab in the middle of a set of townhouses or (at night) drunkenly screamed to your friends about the log cabin from the future?

The very out-of-place, modern R Street townhouse is hard to miss. It’s tall, imposing, and, with so many glass windows, very open. And haven’t you just been dying to see what it looks like inside?

The Washington Post found this house interesting enough to write an article about it. The house was constructed on a vacant lot purchased by Fred Bahrami, a developer who later purchased and tore down a neighboring townhouse to make room for his vision. (Bahrami sold the house after it was completed.)

The Post‘s article details the interior of the house, but they also have a photo gallery of shot of the interior, so you can sate your curiosity.

Vox now must ask the question that’s surely east at everyone’s minds: Is the house’s new owner for or against the 2010 Campus Plan?

At approximately 10 p.m. this evening, the D.C. Fire Department responded to a 911 call on the 1700 block of 37th Street.

According to DCFD Chief Larry Jackson, the source of the fire was likely a faulty microwave.

“We experienced light smoke that extended to the area surrounding the microwave,” Jackson said.

Four fire engines engine companies and two ladder trucks responded to the scene, in addition to at least one DCFD ambulance. After entering 1720 37th Street through the front door of the house, the firefighters extended ladders onto the roof of the building to check for additional smoke and fire damage. Firefighters quickly contained the smoke and fire.

Jackson added that no resident or firefighter was injured.

“No injuries, none of that,” he said. “But with these kinds of calls, better safe than sorry.”

The owners of the house, who were at the scene, declined to comment.

UPDATE: According to DCFD official, fire burned up the wall behind the microwave, but did not seriously damage the rest of the house.

Additional reporting by Molly Redden

Photo: Brendan Baumgardner

According to MPD Lt. Victor Braschnewitz, an unknown suspect(s) burglarized a house on the 3600 block of T Street last night.

After hearing noises on the first floor, the residents of the house, a mother and daughter, woke up to discover that the suspect(s) stole “jewelry, cash, a laptop, as well as other personal items.”

The suspect(s) gained access through an open ground-floor window.

In an email to the Burleith listserv, Braschnewitz reminded residents to consider their safety.

“I would like to reissue a warning to those of you who may not feel the need to close your ground level windows at night to please take heed and reconsider your safeguarding standards,” he wrote.

3:30 p.m. update: DPS sent out a Public Safety Alert about the burglary.

Vox has obtained a Metropolitan Police Department report that shows that both MPD Lieutenant John Hedgecock and the Department of Public Safety misrepresented the nature of Sunday’s sexual assault in Burleith.

According to the report, the victim woke up to the suspect “having vaginal intercourse with her.” Although both MPD and DPS Director Joseph Smith made comments that suggested that the suspect entered the home without force, the suspect—described as a white male with brown hair and an average build—broke into the victim’s S Street home by removing an air conditioning unit attached to a window, according to the report.

The report says that the suspect fled after the victim began to yell, “Get off of me!”

The report lists the assault as second degree sexual assault, which is described as a crime where victim is “[i]ncapable of appraising the nature of the conduct,” “[i]ncapable of declining participation in that sexual act,” or “[i]ncapable of communicating unwillingness to engage in that sexual act.”

On Tuesday, Hedgecock told the Hoya, “This was a preventable crime. Students have to lock their doors and protect themselves by staying in groups.” (Smith echoed Hedgecock’s recommendations.) However, these new details show that the crime would have been difficult to prevent.

The suspect is still at-large.

According to a report from MPD Lt. John Hedgecock, an unknown perpetrator sexually assaulted a female Burleith resident early this morning. The assault occurred on the 3800 block of S Street.

“In response, we have stepped up our patrol presence in the area and are working closely with our sex crimes unit,” Hedgecock wrote. “Please encourage everyone to report ANY suspicious activity they observe in the area.”

Hedgecock added that the victim is not associated with Georgetown University. Vox encourages anybody with information about this morning’s crime to immediately call 911.

8/30 Update:

Yesterday, DPS sent out a Public Safety Alert about the assault. The PSA confirmed Hedgecock’s listserv report, adding that “[w]hen the victim was awakened by the assault, the suspect fled the scene.”

At tonight’s ANC meeting, Hedgecock declined to offer many details, but did reveal that MPD patrol routes have been altered in light of the crime. (Vox will have more tomorrow.)

In this week’s edition of “How Burleith Residents Misunderstand the 2010 Campus Plan,” we take a look at Lenore Rubino, President of the Burleith Citizens’ Associations. This gem of a line is from an email Rubino sent out over the Burleith listserv:

“Good for all: More on-campus, affordable housing that accommodates student needs. I would think university students, no matter where they are located, would want and demand safe, affordable, convenient on-campus housing, especially at the tuition rates some universities are charging.”

Sigh. I’m not sure where Rubino thinks the University can build more on-campus housing. Neighbors often cite the fact that an architectural firm identified space for 800 additional beds on campus—if the University built on every plot of open space there exists on campus. (And built only dorm-style housing that no student would ever opt to live in as an upperclassman.)

I’m also not sure why Rubino thinks that new on-campus housing would be less expensive than off-campus housing. It certainly isn’t more affordable now.

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