Crime & Safety

Five Police, Fire Stories that Had Arlington Talking in 2011

A body is found in Spy Pond, a karate coach confesses to molesting a 7-year-old student, a three-alarm fire destroys a home in Arlington Heights and more of this year's newsmakers in Arlington.

As 2011 comes to a close, Arlington Patch will review some of the year's most read and important news stories. Watch for our Year in Review pieces on the days leading up to New Year's Eve. So far, we have looked at the and the .

Here are the five most police and fire news articles that had Arlington talking in 2011:

New Hampshire Man Found Dead in Spy Pond

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

Arlington Police found the body of a white male in Spy Pond behind the Arlington Lodge of Elks in December.

Capt. Richard Flynn, of the , said police determined the . The as Cameron Raudonis-Blicker, 23, of Derry, N.H.

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

Police noted there was no clear sign of trauma on the body. Authorities are still waiting for toxicology reports to determine cause of death.

Prosecutor: Karate Coach Confessed to Indecent Assault of 7-Year-Old Girl

An Arlington  a young girl at his studio , a prosecutor said in August.

Thomas Donahue, 52, of Lexington, is charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, child enticement, reckless endangerment of a child and kidnapping. He is the founder of  in Arlington, where authorities say the crime took place.

In court, Assistant District Attorney Deborah Bercovitch said Donahue gave Arlington Police a “full confession” of the crime.

The prosecutor said the crime would occur after the victim’s karate class at T&P. He would ask the girl to shake his genitals "to help him remove" a cast he was wearing at the time, according to Bercovitch. Once the victim would comply with the request, he would remove the cast and thank the girl, according to the prosecutor.

Donahue of the crime to police.

Three-Alarm Fire on Appleton Street Destroys House

In April, a  in Arlington Heights and at least two cars in the back of the building at 100 Appleton St.

"It's a total loss," said an Arlington firefighter at the scene as early on flames were seen shooting out of the back attic window of the gray house at the corner of Appleton Street and Florence Avenue, a block from Massachusetts Avenue.

What was reported initially as a "garage" fire spread up the back of the building, blackening the entire rear outside wall and entering into the attic. Evidence of the fire's origin and intensity were at least two vehicles parked in the back, charred by the blaze. 

Marijuana Grow House Bust in East Arlington

An Arlington man was arrested in September on three drug charges, after police executed a search warrant at his East Arlington home and .

Police say that Jonathan M. Pore, 23, was growing 150 to 170 marijuana plants at his home on 47 Cleveland St., an amount that some officials estimated to have a street value of $100,000.

with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, drug violation near a park and cultivation of marijuana. The house where he was arrested is minutes from   and .

Alleged Heroin Dealer Arrested Near Middle School

An  with what police say was more than 35 grams of heroin and thousands of dollars in cash near .

Robert R. Edwards, 31, of Arlington, was arrested on charges of possession of heroin and trafficking drug violation near a school, according to the police report.

Police apprehended from Edwards 35.5 grams of heroin and about $9,561 cash.


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.

More from Arlington