Weird News: Saving Pet Parrot, Arm-Rubbing Bandit and Are We Ready for Stinkbug Invasion?

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.

Fire Truck Assists in Parrot Rescue: We’ve heard of the Alexandria Fire Department rescuing cats in trees, but birds of flight? That’s just what happened recently in West End Alexandria. On Sept. 14, an Animal Control officer as called out to the intersection of Holmes Run Parkway and South Jenkins Street after a parrot belonging to a nearby resident had flown into a nearby tree. The parrot landed some 40-feet up and near some power lines. It was higher than the parrot had ever flown before and it seemed scared to fly down.  

Crook in Fake Mustache, Beard Still Drugs from CVS Pharmacy: A man thought to be wearing a fake mustache and a beard robbed a CVS Pharmacy in Manassas on Thursday morning. It happened at 9:15 a.m. at the store at 9200 Centreville Road when the suspect handed the pharmacist a note demanding specific narcotics, Manassas police reports show. After he received the drugs he ran out of the store and toward Mathis Avenue.

Victim Attacked With Pepper Spray at Manassas Area Bank: Police are looking for a man with dreadlocks who used pepper spray to rob and injure someone at a local bank. It happened Monday at noon at the BB&T Bank branch on Sudley Road, Prince William County investigators said.

200 Cartons of Cigarettes Stolen from Yorkshire Business: A business owner in the Yorkshire area of Prince William County told police someone stole cash and other items, including hundreds of cartons of cigarettes from his store earlier this month.

Transformer Explosion in Reston: Residents were startled and Reston Parkway and Sunset Hills traffic was snarled on Tuesday when a power transformer suddenly exploded near the Carlton House Condos in Reston. The smoke reached about seven stories into the air at one point. The building was briefly evacuated and a Dominion Virginia Power employee suffered minor injuries.

Woman Wakes to Find Strange Man Rubbing Her Arm: An Arlington woman told police she awoke one morning this week to find a strange man rubbing her arm. The man ran away when she awoke. He remains on the loose. This is not related to a similar incident that happened earlier this month in Virginia Square, police said.

Police: Intoxicated Man Drives Into Arlington Fire Station: A drunk driver drove into an Arlington County fire station last weekend, according to information police released Wednesday. Yancy Carrera, 35, of Falls Church, was intoxicated when he drove his vehicle into the corner of Fire Station No. 9 at 1900 S. Walter Reed Drive, according to the Arlington County Police Department. 

Stink Bug Population 'May Be Ready to Explode' - And We're Right at the Epicenter:  An entomologist at the University of Maryland said, an usually large population of stink bugs may be headed into the east coast - in fact, we could be headed for an ‘explosion’ of the stinky little buggers. Lucky us. One Patch reader said she is already finding hundreds of them all over her porch, yard, and even in her house.