Suspect in targeted attack on Arlandria cars arrested on unrelated charges

One month after two cars were found with shot-out windows in West End, a suspect is behind bars on a different charge, according to Alexandria police.

The 25-year-old male suspect in the case of the damaged cars is from D.C. He was arrested for an unrelated felony on Dec. 9 and released to another law enforcement agency on Dec. 16, the Alexandria Police Department says.

The incident remains under investigation, police said. When asked, the department did not provide ALXnow any more details regarding his arrest or his whereabouts now.

But one month ago, the man may have participated in dealing extensive damage to two cars that were parked in the garage for an apartment complex in the 100 block of Luna Park Drive.

On Sunday, Nov. 20, an officer was dispatched to investigate a call involving a suspicious vehicle in the garage. By the time the officer arrived, multiple residents had called to report possible shots fired there.

The responding officer found two vehicles with out-of-state license plates with smashed doors and shot-out windows, as well as a few witnesses and a U.S. Capitol Police officer standing by, according to a recently released police search warrant affidavit.

The vehicles were parked next to each other and belong to members of the same family, who were reportedly confused and surprised when officers approached them.

The victims told officers that they suspected a mentally ill family member and her boyfriend. The day before, the family member had fought with one of the victims and hit her and stole her phone.

The witness who reported the suspicious vehicle said the driver had tried to follow him inside but he made sure the gate closed before the car could get through. He described the car as a black Honda Accord with “fogged up windows and license plates that had been covered sitting in the front parking lot with the lights off,” police said in the affidavit.

After entering, the resident drove to another gate, saw it was broken, and returned to the main entrance. When he parked on the ground level, he heard “a banging noise coming from the (second) floor and then heard tires squealing and then the sound of 5-6 gunshots,” according to the affidavit.

Police tracked the phone stolen the day before and the Honda to a hotel in the 5900 block of Richmond Highway in Fairfax County. The Honda, which had bullet holes on the trunk lid and rear driver’s side door, matched the description of the suspect’s vehicle.

“There was also a Halloween mask matching a description given by a caller, blood in the front passenger seat area, as well as a brown paper bag with holes for eyes and a mouth cut out on the back seat of the vehicle,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

Police determined that two suspects were in the hotel room and contacted them, but they refused to come out and speak to the officers. The suspects were not arrested.

“Due to (the suspects) refusal to speak with police, the vehicle was impounded to police HQ to await a search warrant,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

The Alexandria Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program is available 24/7 to listen and help at 703-746-4911.

“If you are a neighbor and know that an abusive incident is occurring, call the police immediately,” the city said. “Calling the police is simply the most effective way to protect the victim and children from immediate harm.”