A Virginia man has been arrested and charged with setting at least three fires outside the entrances of restaurants along South 23rd Street, including Freddy’s Beach Bar, the only LGBTQ establishment in Northern Virginia.
The Arlington County Fire Department announced the arrest as a result of a joint investigation between the Arlington County Fire Marshal and the Arlington County Police Department.
Investigators investigated a series of fires that broke out outside some stores between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on January 9.
Three separate establishments were targeted in the attack: Freddy’s Beach Bar, Crystal City Sports Pub, and McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant.
Alexandria Police Department officers arrested 63-year-old Timothy Clark Pollock at 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 16. He was then transported to the Arlington Fire Marshal’s Office and Arlington Police Department.
On Friday, January 17, Pollock was arraigned in Arlington General District Court on three separate charges of arson in a vacant public building and remanded to Arlington County Jail.
He is being held without bail and is scheduled to next appear at a preliminary hearing on March 24.
According to court records, Pollock has previously faced other criminal charges, but many of those cases are categorized as: Nor Prosekmeaning that the prosecutor has decided not to proceed with the prosecution of the matter.
news site ARLnow.com Pollock is facing additional charges for an unrelated crime, which he reports is under investigation.
Police have not yet determined the motive for the attempted arson.
A Facebook account associated with Pollock features several political posts, videos, and memes that express conservative viewpoints, express distrust of the federal government, and promote right-wing conspiracy theories.
Some posts appear to express hostility towards transgender activists and the idea of gender identity. For example, one day in November post This is a replay of Nancy Mace’s C-SPAN video supporting a ban that would prohibit transgender individuals from accessing the multipurpose restrooms that match their gender identity in all single-sex facilities in the U.S. Capitol. This is a post. The ban was later implemented by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
another postA Dec. 7 article includes a link to an article about Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army soldier who was arrested after participating in a sit-in at the U.S. Capitol to protest the very same policy. In response to the post, Pollock simply wrote, “Freak.”
one non-political posts The images on Pollock’s timeline, shared without comment on the morning of Dec. 21, appear to have been taken from inside Freddy’s Beach Bar, and include a stuffed Santa toy stretched over the fireplace. Some of the Christmas decorations are shown.
Freddie’s owner Freddie Lutz said: metro weekly He expressed gratitude that the damage caused by the fire was kept to a minimum and that no one was injured in the fire. He also thanked the Arlington Fire and Police Department for the “excellent job” they did in tracking down and arresting the main suspect.
“Now that we know this guy has a pretty good record, we want him to stay away from us for a while,” Lutz said.
said Tony Rivenbark, manager of Freddy’s Beach Bar. metro weekly Two bartenders informed him that Pollock had recently visited the bar.
After ordering something, he allegedly claimed he didn’t have money to pay the bill. When bartenders confronted him about the missed payments, he allegedly told them, “I know Freddy.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
