Two ATVs Stolen From Land and Lake Polaris (Corrections and Updated Photos)

Abingdon Police Department

                                               

For Immediate Release

The Abingdon Police Department is investigating a burglary at Land and Lake Powersports (827 Cummings Street) on May 21, 2015 at approximately 4:50 AM. Two ATVs were stolen and identified to be the following:

 -2007 Arctic Cat ATV, 700cc, lime green in color.

-2011 Can Am 400cc ATV, yellow in color.  

If you have any information about this incident or the whereabouts of these ATVs, please call the Abingdon PD at 276-628-3111 or Washington County Dispatch at 276-676-6277.

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Phone Scams On The Rise

Abingdon Police Department

For Immediate Release

SCAM ALERT!

The Abingdon Police Department has received several calls recently regarding scams. The first being an IRS scam where the caller states you owe the IRS money. Please remember that the IRS will NEVER call you regarding taxes or other issues, you will be notified via letter. If you experience one of these scams, visit www.irs.gov and notify them of this scam.

 The other scam on the rise in our area is when the caller claims you have won the lottery or a sweepstakes through Publishers Clearing House. The caller will ask you to purchase a moneygram for a certain amount of money, and then call them back once you have obtained it. After you send the moneygram, they claim UPS will deliver your prize money.

 We ask that you avoid responding or provide any information, such as bank accounts, credit cards, your social security number or birth date, to these callers. If you have a phone provider that will allow you to block these numbers, please do so to prevent future calls. Please notify your family, friends and neighbors about these scams so that no one falls victim to these predators.

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Virginia Special Olympics T-Shirts

Each summer, the Abingdon Police Department participates with law enforcement across the state in the Torch Run for Special Olympics. The Abingdon leg of the run will be on June 6^th starting at 9:30am at the parking lot of the Charwood shopping center and participants will run with the torch down Main Street to the parking lot across from Johnston Memorial Hospital. 

The Abingdon Police Department is selling Virginia Special Olympics t-shirts. All proceeds go to Special Olympics to help support the games. Shirts are $15.00 each and the sizes are small, medium, large, x-large and XXL. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, stop by the APD from 8:30am-5pm to purchase a shirt. Thank you for your support!

2015 CLICK IT OR TICKET

Click It or Ticket Campaign Starts May 18th

Abingdon Law Enforcement Will Show Zero Tolerance

Abingdon, VA – Once again, the Abingdon Police Department is reminding motorists to Click It or Ticket. As part of the national seat belt enforcement campaign, law enforcement agencies around the country will be stepping up enforcement May 18th to 31st, just ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.  

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2013 were unrestrained. At night from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number soared to 59 percent of those killed. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

Almost twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates, too. Of the males killed in crashes in 2013, more than half (54%) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 41 percent were not buckled up.

“If you knew you were going to be in a crash, you would wear your seatbelt, however, you don’t know when the next crash may occur. So please wear your seatbelt not only for yourself but for those who care about you,” said Police Chief Tony Sullivan.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.     

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Change Habits to Save Lives- 2015 Click It or Ticket

2015 Click It or Ticket

FACT SHEET

Change Habits to Save Lives

Be a Part of the Progress

• From May 18 to 31, State and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up enforcement to crack down on motorists who aren’t wearing their seat belts.

• The national seat belt use rate is at 87 percent, which is good, but we can do better. The other 13 percent—an estimated 27.5 million people—still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives.

Enforce Life-Saving Laws

• Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives. In 2013, there were 9,580 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. To help prevent crash fatalities, we need to step up enforcement and crack down on those who don’t wear their seat belts.

• Seat belt use is required by law for a reason: In 2012 seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 people from dying. From 2008 to 2012 seat belts saved nearly 63,000 lives.

• If all passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older involved in fatal crashes had worn their seat belts, an additional 3,031 lives could have been saved in 2012 alone.

Face the Facts

• In 2013, nearly half of the motor vehicle occupants who died in crashes were unrestrained.

• Among young adults 18 to 34 years old killed in crashes, 61 percent were completely unrestrained—the highest percentage of all age groups.

• In 2013, there were 638 children 12 and younger killed in motor vehicle crashes. Of those fatalities, more than a third (38%) were unrestrained.

• Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2013, about 65 percent of the 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants killed were men. So it comes as no surprise that they wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do – 54 percent of men in fatal crashes were unrestrained, compared to 41 percent for women.

Bust the Myths

• Vehicle type: There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them more than other vehicles in crashes. But the numbers say otherwise. Sixty-three percent of pickup truck occupants who were killed were not buckled up. That’s compared to 43 percent of passenger car occupants who were killed while not wearing their seat belts. Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash.

·         Seating position: Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained. Half of all front-seat occupants killed in crashes in 2012 were unrestrained, but 61 percent of those killed in back seats were unrestrained.

• Rural versus urban locations: People who live in rural areas might believe that their crash exposure is lower, but in 2013, there were 13,038 crash fatalities in rural locations, compared to 8,079 crash fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 51 percent of those killed in the rural locations were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 46 percent in urban locations.

Click or Ticket—Day and Night

• High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2013, about 59 percent of passenger vehicle occupants were killed at night (6 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.) who were not wearing their seat belts.

Learn more about the Click It or Ticket mobilization at www.nhtsa.gov/ciot

Traffic Crash Leads to DUI and Child Endangerment Arrest

Abingdon Police Department

For Immediate Release

On Saturday, May 16, 2015, at approximately 1:30PM, an officer with the Abingdon Police Department was northbound on Stoneybrook Drive, approaching the intersection of Hillman Highway, when he observed a red 1999 Pontiac sedan traveling at a high rate of speed pass the Hillman Highway intersection eastbound. The officer approached the intersection, slowed and turned on to Hillman Highway. As the officer turned he observed that the speeding vehicle lost control and hit a guardrail at the intersection of Tunnel Street and Hillman Highway. Upon arrival at the crash site, the officer observed that a female passenger had exited the vehicle. Upon contact with the officer, she advised that there were two small children in the backseat. The officer found the children, securely fastened in their child restraint seats. The use of child restraints helped the children avoid serious injury. The passenger and two children were treated at Johnston Memorial Hospital for unknown injuries.

The driver, Mark Kyle Chaphe, 22, of 155 Pen Road, Chilhowie, VA, was still seated inside the vehicle. He displayed obvious signs of being under the influence of some type of intoxicant. A search of the vehicle yielded several small baggies of synthetic marijuana and smoking paraphernalia. 

Chaphe stands charged with Driving under the Influence, in violation of § 18.2-266 of the Code of Virginia and two counts of Felony Child Endangerment, in violation of § 18.2-371.1 of the Code of Virginia. He was transported to the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail, where he is being held without bond.

Pictured: Mark Kyle Chaphe, 22, of 155 Pen Road, Chilhowie, VA

Capias Arrest Leads to Meth Possession Charge

Abingdon Police Department

                                               

For Immediate Release

On Friday, May 8, 2015, at approximately 7:45PM officers from the Abingdon Police Department were serving a capias in the 400 block of Nicholas Street. The capias was for a Nathan McCann, 19, of 489 Nicholas Street Apartment B4, from the Washington County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Upon arrival, officers located McCann and placed him under arrest. A search subsequent to his arrest yielded a small plastic bag of white crystal substance, consistent with methamphetamine on McCann’s person. The capias was served and additional felony warrant was obtained for Possession of methamphetamine, in violation of § 18.2-250 of the Code of Virginia. McCann is being held on a $2000.00 secured bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail.

*Pictured Above: Nathan McCann, 19, of 489 Nicholas Street Apartment B4, Abingdon, VA

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