Crime & Safety

VIDEO: Arlington Police Arrest 'Molotov Cocktail' Suspect

Amateur video surfaced Thursday following the arrest of 29-year-old Leon Alphans Traille Jr.

The above video shows three Arlington County police officers arresting Leon Alphans Traille Jr., a 29-year-old man with no fixed address who authorities say threw a Molotov cocktail into the Ballston Common Mall food court around lunchtime Thursday.

Police say they found Traille after an alert resident noticed someone matching his description near the Cheesecake Factory in Clarendon. The arrest took place not far away, in the Courthouse Plaza.

Fox 5 aired portions of the above video and interviewed a man who said he was a co-worker of the person who filmed it. WJLA aired a different video of the same arrest and interviewed the man who filmed that.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said he had not seen either video. He did not dispute their authenticity, though, and said Traille was the only individual arrested in the Courthouse Plaza on Thursday afternoon.

Given all of that, and following the release of Traille's mugshot Friday, Patch editors agreed the above video did in fact depict his arrest.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police have charged Traille .

Traille also faces a federal arson charge. He is accused of using fire or explosives to attempt to destroy property used in interstate commerce.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.