Anger counselor charged with pulling gun in parking flap

Washington Post ^ | February 5, 2010 | Tom Jackman

[La Lydia]

A respected domestic violence and anger management counselor in Fairfax County was arraigned in federal court Thursday after he allegedly pulled a gun on two men who he believed were blocking his car on an Annandale street last week. The two men were federal marshals. Jose L. Avila, 57, was ordered held without bond pending a detention hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He has been held in the Fairfax jail since Jan. 25, when he apparently picked the wrong place and time to complain about thoughtless parking.

Avila's attorney said Avila had worked for many years at the nonprofit Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, which merged with Northern Virginia Family Service in 2008.

Avila is a single parent and former priest from Colombia who was highly regarded by judges in the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Odio said. Judges and lawyers often referred people to Avila for pretrial or probationary counseling, particularly because he is bilingual.

Avila allegedly encountered two deputy U.S. marshals outside an apartment complex on Americana Drive, near Little River Turnpike and the Capital Beltway, at 9 a.m. Jan. 25. In a court affidavit, Deputy Marshal Floriano Whitwell said he and another marshal, Matthew M. Dumas, had been conducting a fugitive investigation and parked their sport-utility vehicles in designated parking places on Americana Drive....

Found on Avila's seat, Whitwell alleges, was a 9mm Astra A-90 pistol loaded with 14 hollow-point bullets. Once out of his vehicle, Avila reportedly apologized profusely and said he had "never done anything like this before," the affidavit said. When he appeared with the marshals before a Fairfax magistrate, he claimed that he had pointed a cellphone, not a gun, at the marshals...

Officials at Northern Virginia Family Service declined to comment.

[La Lydia]

This made me laugh out loud. Anger management, indeed. If you are going to go around behaving like this, at least be sure you are not threatening federal marshals.

[nevergore]

Kinda like the movie with Jack Nicholson as an Anger Management counselor....

[kalee]

ping

[Liberty Valance]

Good morning ... now get off my lawn!

[PeaRidge]

Serenity Now!

[1rudeboy]

If you are going to go around behaving like this, at least be sure you are not threatening federal marshals.

Stop treating him like a Math tutor!

[USNBandit]

The marshals identified themselves and tried to arrest Avila, but he was "uncooperative" and "continued to resist arrest and refused to give me his hand which was under his body," Whitwell wrote. The marshals feared that a gun was beneath Avila, and they used "U.S. Marshals Service defensive tactics to eventually apprehend Avila," Whitwell said.

Translation, Mr. Avila got to kiss the pavement with a Marshal's knee on the back of his neck.

[oh8eleven]

the nonprofit Center for Multicultural Human Services
Well, isn't that special.

[Col Frank Slade]

Break out the Festivus Pole and demonstrations of feats of strength.

LOL

[hometoroost]

This reminds me of the story P J O’Rourke told in one of his books. At a rally somewhere (I think DC) someone from the Center For Creative Nonviolence punched out a homeless advocate.

[Da Coyote]

Prognostication:

If democrat, slap on hands.

If repub, jail and call for more gun bans.

[Above My Pay Grade]

>>>>Avila is a single parent and former priest<<<

I can imagine him having this conversation with his Mom, when he first told her he was going to pursue his current (and soon to be former) career:

“Yeah, Mom, I know I said I was sure I was being called to that priesthood thing, but this time is different. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. I was put on this earth to be an anger management counsler!”

[tlb]

As I read the story he was successful in managing his anger. He didn’t shoot them.

[La Lydia]

Snort.

[pepperdog]

The code words just keep coming at you in this one don't they: non-profit, former priest, single parent...yeah here's a guy with his head on straight! Is idiot stamped on his forehead? It should be.

[reagan_fanatic]

[La Lydia]

You forgot "Multicultural Human Services..."

[jagusafr]

Or my favorite: “Welcome to Walmart. Now get your sh*t and get out!”

Gotta love Walter...

Colonel, USAFR

[Still Thinking]

Anger counselor charged with pulling gun in parking flap

Maybe he's just trying to drum up business.

[Onelifetogive]

Translation, Mr. Avila got to kiss the pavement with a Marshal's knee on the back of his neck.

Mr. Avila is lucky he is not thoroughly and excessively dead.