Weird News: Grease Proposal Flashmob, Fake Spy Bigamy Plot, Cicada Arrives Late and Mystery Drone at Firefight

By Greg Hambrick

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week.

One More Cicada. Now that the cicada brood has stopped buzzing, the freak factor of this year’s unusual hatching has passed and spotting a single cicada has returned to being a novelty. Do any cicada eaters have an opinion on whether late cicadas age well? Actually, we’d rather not know.

One More Video…Will Cost You. An Arlington man allegedly pulled a knife when he was approached by a store employee for trying to shoplift a DVD in a Ballston business. He quickly fled the scene, but he wasn’t hard to find. Police found his name and address on the receipt for some other DVDs that he had paid for before he was confronted.  

You’re the One That I Want. Really. With a crowd of sock-hopping revelers around him at the Rosslyn Film Festival, Tyler Pepin got down on one knee during the big finale of “Grease” and proposed to his girlfriend, Sara Powell. Pepin actually started a MeetUp group earlier this summer to rope in flashmob dancers. The happy couple will be tying the knot in 2014 — with the looming cloud of expectation for a YouTube-worthy wedding procession dance down the aisle (no pressure).

Spies Like Us. Not Really. Fairfax City Police recently assisted in the arrest of a man accused of leading a double life with fake CIA credentials in order to keep a second wife. The Williamsburg man had married his second bride in Fairfax, using an identity that was allegedly that of a fictitious CIA agent. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service caught up with him and he’s now in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.

Patrol Boat vs. Boats (Plural). Usually it’s the harbor patrol boats that are breaking up a commotion, but the stir last weekend was over a police boat hitting two civilian boats while trying to make a U-turn, according to news reports. One of the boats partially sunk due to the damage. The U.S. Coast Guard and D.C. police are investigating — and we’re getting out of the water.

Summer’s Over, Hooray! A mom got a real kick, literally, out of seeing her son off to school for the first day. The school bus was still motoring off in the distance as “Bye, Bye, Bye” starting playing from the stereo and this mom did her back to school dance. We’re sure she isn’t alone. Enjoy it while you can; the songs of summer 2014 aren’t far off.

Man Bites Jailer’s Thumb. A correction officer was injured last week in Prince William County when a suspect allegedly bit his thumb as the officer was trying to restrain the combative man. Police referred to the injury as a “deep laceration.” The thumb was treated and malicious injury has been added to the suspect’s list of charges.

Drone Makes Stop at Warehouse Fire. Officials suspect a local hobbyist is responsible for a mysterious drone aircraft spotted hovering nearby as firefighters battled a warehouse blaze on Monday in West End Alexandria. The Washington Times published an ameatur photo of the small craft. The newspaper checked with officials from Alexandria and Fairfax County who said they had no idea who owned the drone.