A 29-year-old Alexandria man faces hundreds of charges tied to alleged thefts from unlocked vehicles parked outside of fitness centers in Fairfax County and Falls Church.
Kumneger Ayalsew was arrested in Alexandria on June 26 and is currently being held at the Arlington County jail. He faces hundreds of charges for similar alleged crimes in Fairfax County and Falls Church, according to a release from the Fairfax County Police Department.
“Since April 2026, detectives determined Ayalsew stole wallets, credit cards, and other personal belongings from unlocked vehicles before quickly making fraudulent gift card purchases at nearby retailers, often before victims realized the thefts had occurred,” FCPD said in a release. “Ayalsew is currently facing nearly 200 related charges for similar crimes that previously occurred in Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church.”
During the months of March and April, FCPD received multiple reports of stolen credit cards being used at Springfield Town Center. In one of the cases, the suspect arrived in an Uber vehicle, and Uber responded to a court order and gave police the suspect’s email address, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
On April 9, a former roommate reported to police that Ayalsew was kicked out of a group home, and that while cleaning his former room, his roommates found “several wallets, credit cards, gift cards, drivers’ licenses and other forms of ID that didn’t belong to Kumneger Ayalsew,” according to the affidavit.
After his arrest, Ayalsew was charged with 32 additional charges, including nine counts of credit card theft, nine counts of credit card fraud, four counts of vehicle trespassing, five counts of identity theft, two counts of petit larceny, two counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining money by false pretense.
Ayalsew is suspected of breaking into vehicles as recently as April 30 and June 23 in the 5900 block of Trinity Parkway in Centreville, on May 1 and June 22 in the 1700 block of Business Center Drive in Reston, and on May 3 in the 8200 block of Greensboro Drive in Tysons.
In that April 30 incident, the victim reported that his wallet was stolen from his vehicle while he was in a gym, and that it contained multiple credit cards. The victim told police that transactions were attempted with the stolen credit cards at the Target in the Fair Lakes Shopping Center.
“The receipt from Fair Lakes Target showed that the suspect had purchased three gift cards with the victim’s stolen credit cards,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The transactional records for the gift cards showed that they were mostly used at businesses in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Fairfax County.”
On June 21, a woman reported that her purse was stolen from a vehicle while she was working out at a gym in Falls Church. The victim reported that her stolen credit cards were used at Target, Best Buy and Macy’s. Police also found that the suspect allegedly bought an Apple MacBook, an iPhone and a battery pack, according to the affidavit.
That same day, a friend of Ayalsew called the Alexandria Police Department to report him missing. The friend also said that he was last seen driving a blue Mitsubishi sedan with Maryland plates.
Police would later use Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras to find the Mitsubishi parked at a hotel near the Target in the Fair Lakes Shopping Center. Police went to the hotel and found surveillance footage of Ayalsew walking into the hotel, using a bathroom and then leaving the hotel.
“The hotel manager also informed [FCPD] that a wallet was found by a staff member when they went to empty a trash can in the bathroom that the suspect used,” according to the affidavit. “The found wallet didn’t belong to [the victim], but it contained their stolen driver’s license and health insurance card.”
Ayalsew was driving the blue Mitsubishi when FCPD pulled him over on June 24, after he was listed as a missing person, and police got a Flock ALPR hit on his vehicle, according to the affidavit. On June 26, APD pulled Ayalsew over for speeding in the blue Mitsubishi.
The Alexandria Police Department told ALXnow that it does not have any similar incidents under investigation connected to Ayalsew.
More incidents are below.
- April 30 — A wallet was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a gym in Reston, and a stolen credit card was used at a Target in Reston
- May 1 — A wallet was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a gym in Falls Church, and a stolen credit card was used at a Target in Reston
- May 3 — A wallet was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a gym in McLean, and a stolen credit card was used to buy an iPad and multiple gift cards
- June 22 — The victim reported that their wallet was stolen from their vehicle while they were at a gym in Reston, and that their credit cards were used at Best Buy, Rack Room Shoes, Target and a bridal shop
- June 22 — A wallet was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a gym in Reston, and a stolen credit card was used at a Target in Reston
- June 23 — The victim reported that their wallet was stolen from their vehicle while they were at a gym in Centreville, and that their credit card was used at the Target in the Fair Lakes Shopping Center
Anyone with information related to these or similar incidents can contact the FCPD Criminal Investigation Division at 703-814-7000. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477).
