Manassas Park
Manassas Park police said they took a runaway sheep into custody after finding it grazing in a backyard near Nancy Street in Blooms Crossing, WJLA reports.
Officers found the sheep on Oct. 28, and police said it is safe and sound. The department is looking for its owner, who can call 703-361-1136.
A Manassas Park High School art teacher was arrested Monday after a loaded handgun was found in the parking lot at Manassas Park Middle School, WTOP reported.
Manassas Park police identified and took into custody Veronica Gooch-Ray, of Potomac Falls, in connection with the firearm. She was charged with possession of a firearm on school property under Virginia Code § 18.2-308.1. Police said she is employed as an art teacher at Manassas Park High School.
Manassas Park City Schools closed every school Monday, Oct. 26, after a weapon was found in the secondary parking lot. The division said the closure is out of an abundance of caution and will give the Manassas Park Police Department time to investigate the source of the weapon.
The alert posted on the Manassas Park City Schools website does not name which campus, describe the weapon, say when it was found, or report injuries, arrests, or any ongoing threat. Manassas Park Middle School and Manassas Park High School share the Euclid Avenue campus at 8202 and 8200 Euclid Avenue; the elementary schools are at separate sites.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s former roommate recounted a missed call and an encounter with Naresh Bhatt days before his arrest, WUSA 9 reported from trial testimony.
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Jurors in the Naresh Bhatt trial saw the carpet from the bedroom and a video of him buying knives, NBC4 reports.
Investigators have previously described blood evidence in the bedroom and bathroom.
Detective Claudia Ventura testified that Bluestar liquid formula applied to the master bedroom and bathroom on Aug. 21, 2024, revealed blood evidence, and with the lights off “the room lit up blue,” InsideNoVa reports.
Prosecutors believe Bhatt rearranged furniture to cover blood-soaked carpet. Cleaning supplies including Lysol and wipes were found in his bedroom closet. Body-worn camera footage from Ventura’s visits on Aug. 6, 9, and 14, 2024, was also played. Bhatt had told Ventura that Mamta was taking “abortion pills,” but later showed a bottle of birth control pills. He claimed she attended a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services meeting on July 31, 2024, and planned to return for a final interview on Aug. 5 that never happened.
Manassas Park City Hall, the Department of Social Services, the library, and public works are closed Monday, Oct. 12, for Indigenous Peoples Day, the city said. The Community Center stays open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Offices reopen Tuesday, Oct. 13. Trash collection is not affected. Public safety stays on call. Water and sewer emergencies on the holiday go to the police non-emergency line, (703) 361-1136.
Jury selection continues in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, charged in the 2024 disappearance and presumed death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, InsideNoVa reports.
Bhatt has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and physical defilement of a dead body. No body has been found. Mamta, a Manassas Park nurse and mother, was last heard from on July 29, 2024. Judge Kimberly A. Irving is presiding. The trial is expected to run for weeks.
Naresh Bhatt pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and physical defilement of a dead body, InsideNoVa reports.
No body has been found. Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a Manassas Park nurse and mother, was last heard from on July 29, 2024. She is presumed dead.