A D.C. man and an Alexandria man are facing multiple charges after an attempted armed robbery in Alexandria’s Braddock neighborhood, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim reported to the Alexandria Police Department that on Sunday, March 8, masked men assaulted her and attempted to rob her. The victim told police she was in her car in the 1200 block of Wythe Street when she was approached by two men wearing masks, and that one of them “grabbed her by the throat and told her to pay her $30 that she owed him,” according to the affidavit.
The victim said she then felt something poke her stomach, and looked down to see the suspect pointing a silver and black handgun at her. The victim reported she started fighting with the suspect, and that he pushed her head to the floor of the vehicle.
“While being forced down to the ground in her vehicle she reached under the passenger seat … where she was originally sitting and grabbed her personally owned firearm to defend herself,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “She was eventually able to break free and stand up, at which point she tried to shoot her handgun to get the subject away from her. She advised the firearm did not fire initially, so she manipulated the slide twice, ejecting unspent rounds from the firearm, and then she shot one shot into the air.”
The suspect fled, and the victim went to police headquarters to report the incident and turn in her gun.
The victim told police she had purchased $30 worth of marijuana approximately eight months to a year earlier and that the suspect had since jokingly asked her for the money. In surveillance footage, police observed two masked suspects approach the victim, with one grabbing her, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Denali Goodrich of D.C. was arrested March 19 in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood and charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of Schedule I or II drugs, attempted robbery with a firearm and wearing masks in certain places. He is being held without bond.
His accused accomplice, Marlin Willis of Alexandria, was arrested March 25 and was charged with attempted robbery using force and wearing masks in certain places. He was released on recognizance and was later arrested April 5 for driving while intoxicated and driving without a license.
The preliminary hearing for both suspects is April 27.
