The week in review
Latest missing young woman: Katalina Mikitarian, 21, disappears from a bus headed to Charlottesville, and calls her mother a week later, but won't say where she is. Mikitarian is learning disabled and has low impulse control, according to her mother. She'd been kicked out of a group home in Richmond May 9 and put on the bus with $1.58, Sharon Fitzgerald reports in the Daily Progress.
Most fatal Friday the 13th: Five-year-old Alegna Wingfield, who was behind a backing vehicle driven by a family member May 8, dies from those injuries at UVA Medical Center. And motorcycle driver David Anderson, 49, is pronounced dead at the hospital following a head-on collision on Stony Point Road.
Most like the big city: A carjacking takes place around 4am May 16 at Barracks Road Shopping Center after an attempted break-in at GameStop. A man at a nearby fast food restaurant reports his minivan was stolen about the same time. The purloined van is recovered later that day near Azalea Park, but wrapped birthday presents inside are missing, according to NBC29.
Latest road project that won't be happening: The Eastern Connector bites the dust May 11 when the Albemarle Board of Supervisors votes to remove the road, which would connect U.S. 29 with Pantops, from its list of road priorities, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports.
Latest road project that will: Jarmans Gap Road will be closed for about 60 days this summer for a $3.9 million road widening, bike lanes, and sidewalks on a stretch dotted with many of growth-area Crozet's subdivisions. The project should be completed by September 21, according to VDOT.
Latest in the puppy shooting: Dyke resident Brian Tichner, 21, is denied bond May 12 because of his previous criminal history, the Newsplex reports. Tichner is charged with possession of a weapon by a felon in the January slaying of Mattie, a 10-month old Siberian huskie in Earlysville. Alleged shooter Justin Riggs, 26, is charged with cruelty to animals, taking game out of season, and weapon possession by a felon.
Latest alleged public masturbator: Wengel Mitchell Jr., 22, is arrested May 9 at Rio East Court and charged with taking indecent liberties with a child after his self-pleasuring allegedly was seen by a youngster, who did not know Mitchell, according to a release.
Latest lightning strike: Southern States on Harris Street gets zapped May 14 around closing time, and an electrical panel is fried, according to the Charlottesville fire chief.
Biggest blow to open government: Starting July 1, search warrants– which had served as a window on such cases as the killing of Yeardley Love– won't be available to the public as soon as they're filed with a circuit court clerk. The General Assembly voted that warrants can be withheld until the warrant is served or 15 days, whichever is earliest. Tasha Kates has the story in the Progress.
Biggest changing of the guard: A successor to longtime UVA number 2 man Leonard Sandridge is named. John Hopkins University's Michael Strine will take over as executive VP and chief operating officer July 1, according to a release. Stine, 45, was one year old when Sandridge began his career at UVA.
Quickest visit: UVA Board of Visitors member Sheila C. Johnson ditches the university in April after serving less than a year. Johnson, a co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has signed on with the AOL Huffington Post Media Group.
Worst bomb scare: A faux explosive device is discovered at the Charlottesville Livestock Market at 801 Franklin Street May 9, and emergency responders wait more than two hours before it's determined that the suspicious device won't blow.
Worst prank: A student at William Monroe High School spikes a ninth grade teacher's iced tea with staples May 10. The injured teacher returns to work two days later, and charges could be filed against student.
Best headline: "Hunter Mistaken for Turkey; Shot in Face" comes courtesy of the Newsplex. A man is blasted by his friend's 12-gauge shotgun while they're hunting May 14 in Fluvanna. The injured man is in stable condition and no charges had been filed at press time.