WASHINGTON — Arlington County police said a probation counselor has been charged in connection with the attempted abductions of two women eight years ago.
Justin Wingate Poe, 34, was arrested at his Woodbridge, Virginia home on Thursday. Poe was a probation counselor at Fairfax County’s Central Intake building and has been on the job since 2005. After his arrest, Poe was placed on administrative leave with pay by the county’s probation office.
Police said they connected Poe to two attempted abduction cases from 2007 through an investigation into a sex assault case last month.
Police said that a woman called police on May 15 claiming she awoke to a man sexually assaulting her in her home on North Edgewood Street in Arlington. Investigators collected DNA evidence in that case and sent it to a state forensic lab.
“When we received those results back, it did not come back to a known individual, but it did link back to a 2007 case of an attempted abduction we had here in Arlington County,” said Ashley Savage with Arlington County police.
That attempted abduction case occurred on May 28, 2007. Police said a man approached a woman on North Vernon Street from behind, placed a plastic bag over her face and tried to abduct her. The woman was able fight free, but her attacker got away. All police had in the case was a latent finger print that was taken from the bag.
With the connection to the May 2007 case, investigators began combing through cold cases and discovered a case from June 7, 2007, when another woman reported that a man approached her from behind and put a bag over her face. The women in this case got a good look at the attacker, which led to composite sketch.
“If you look at the sketch from 2007 and the subject that we arrested yesterday, you’ll see that they are strikingly similar,” Savage said.
Police said Poe was charged with two counts of attempted abduction. Savage said the department is confident additional forensic evidence, which is expected to come in soon, will lead to charges in the May 15 attack.
Police have asked people to contact them if they have information about the cases or if they believe that they may be a victim. Tips can be submitted anonymously by contacting the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS.
“We hope that the people of Arlington County and these victims can sleep a little safer tonight knowing that a dangerous individual is off the streets,” Savage said.
