Alexandria man allegedly beaten, robbed and forced to strip naked at knifepoint in West End

The Alexandria Police Department found an Alexandria man who was beaten, robbed and naked outside his apartment building in the West End last month.

APD responded to a call for service for a possible assault at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, outside an apartment building in the 4300 block of Duke Street.

Officers found the victim naked and bleeding from the back of his head, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The victim told police that he had an argument with the suspect, who allegedly hit him in the back of the head and then “produced a silver steak knife and demanded he take off his clothing and everything else that he had in his possession,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

“(The victim) was told to leave the apartment after taking off his clothes,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

The suspect, 43-year-old Bereket Berhe of Fairfax County, was allegedly found with blood on the sleeves of his shirt, as well as dried blood on his wrist. He was arrested and charged with robbery and was released on bond that same day. He did not show up to his court appearance on Oct. 27, according to court records.

This is the second time in less than a month that a victim has been stripped of clothing during a robbery, following an incident in Del Ray in September.