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It was more than 34 hours after Wednesday night turned into Thursday morning when she finally walked out.
Fairfax County Police arrested Brittany A. Copelin of Charles County, Maryland, and she was soon charged in two jurisdictions.
“We don’t have a shot clock here,” Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference Thursday. “We can take our time and do the right thing.”
At Fairfax, Copelin has been charged with two counts of forced kidnapping, two counts of firearm use, and possession of a firearm. Laurel, Maryland police also charged Copelin with his two counts of kidnapping, burglary, first-degree assault, third-degree robbery, wrongful imprisonment, and other misdemeanors. Fairfax’s public defender’s office did not immediately return a message requesting comment.
Fairfax County Police said doorbell camera video captured Copelin and a 25-year-old woman leaving their Laurel, Maryland, apartment on Friday. The woman’s mother called the Laurel Police Department on Sunday and said her daughter was missing.
Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, law enforcement from the Charles County Sheriff’s Department separately asked Fairfax County police officers to check on Copelin, who was found near Fordson Road in the Hybra Valley, Fair said. Fax County Police said.
Officers headed into the area and were approached around 11:40 a.m. by a 25-year-old woman whose mother had reported her missing. Police said she told them she had been kidnapped by Copelin.
When officers searched the area for Copelin, they found her in a 2016 Jeep SUV in a parking lot on the 7300 block of Richmond Highway. Police tried to stop the Jeep, but Copelin drove her off, she said. Officers tracked her down and she stopped on a side road off Richmond Highway and Arlington Boulevard, officials said.
Police said the pursuit of the vehicle was slow and lasted about two minutes.
After she pulled over, Copelin showed officers a gun and refused to get out of the Jeep SUV, police said. . The police blocked the road.
“If you get shot, you have to think of the worst-case scenario,” Davis said.
Copelin held a gun to his head several times during the incident, officials said. Her negotiators tried to persuade her by contacting her through her loudspeakers, telephones and yelling, Davis said. When police called Copelin’s family, officials said her family showed up at the scene within 15 minutes of her. Officials say her family texted her to tell her they loved her and encouraged her to walk to the police.
Officials said Copelin, who had a mobile phone, was in contact with media personnel and at one point participated in an interview with DC News Now, in which he said he was afraid to get out of the car. She told reporters that she did not commit the crimes she was accused of prior to the standoff, according to DC News Now.
“Going forward, I want to be careful that people in mental health crises don’t contact anyone who could make their situation worse,” Davis said. It’s definitely going through my mind.”
Todd Pilot, the woman’s attorney who told police she was abducted by Coppelin, said in a statement that his client was “extremely grateful to everyone who spread the word about her abduction. She and her family hope the authorities will use the law to the fullest to bring her kidnappers and those who assisted or aided her to justice. I’m here.”
Around midnight Wednesday, Copelin left the SUV with the firearm in the vehicle, officials said. She was taken to hospital and booked into the Fairfax County Jail on Thursday.
Some were frustrated by the long barricades. Tanya Pensamiento, 31, who commutes on the Richmond Highway, said the traffic was terrible and questioned police’s military response, which included blocking the long stretch of road.
“Her condition was a mental breakdown,” Pensamiento said. “Obviously, seeing police and guns everywhere and surrounding you doesn’t make you feel any better. Maybe that’s why it took her so long.”
Lieutenant Jim Curry of Fairfax said the bloc of officers had rotated eight-hour shifts throughout the stalemate, continuing negotiations with Copelin. He said police did not intend to force her out of her vehicle before Ms. Copelin got out of her vehicle.
“I want the police to be mentally and physically astute and be able to listen and talk to her,” he said Wednesday night. “Everyone wants to be on the A-game.” .”
Davis said he heard many “interesting voice messages” from businesses within the community about the disruption. said it was
“A lot of people have asked and commented why it took so long,” he said. “The reason it took so long was because I wanted to get the best possible outcome for someone involved in a mental health crisis. That was it.”
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