Would-be West End car thieves make brazen getaway from Alexandria police

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating alleged car thefts that resulted in a high-speed chase across state lines.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, APD was notified of multiple men in ski masks in a dark blue minivan and a white 2016 Acura MDX trying to break into vehicles in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4600 block of Duke Street. The 911 caller observed the incident from a surveillance video, according to APD scanner traffic.

Police found the suspects and “commanded” them to “show their hands, but the suspects disregarded the commands and fled in the… minivan eastbound towards Duke Street, almost striking a police cruiser while attempting to flee,” police said in a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The white Acura was abandoned at the scene and two suspects fled the area on foot.

The affidavit said that the van eluded police by crossing state lines over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Virginia into Maryland.

“Myself and other officers attempted to stop the vehicle as it continued to flee at (a) high rate of speed eastbound on Duke Street towards Telegraph Road,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

“The vehicle continued at a high rate of speed, ran red lights, and drove through the delineators at the Telegraph Road ramp,” the affidavit continued. “[An investigating officer] advised the last sighting of the vehicle was fleeing eastbound on Interstate 495 past the Washington National Harbor exit.”

Police found the following inside the abandoned Acura, according to the search warrant:

• Two head lamps
• Clothing (hat and shirt)
• Two cell phones
• Three sets of car keys (Dodge, Toyota, Chrysler)
• Two gloves
• Miscellaneous documents
• Burglarious tools
• Electronic accessories
• Four Honda tires

Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.

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