An Alexandria man is being held without bond on charges of abduction, robbery and violating a protective order against a woman he was dating.
The suspect has been held without bond since his arrest on Monday, May 18. On the previous evening, Sunday, May 17, the victim told police the suspect physically assaulted her and stole $1,500, her iPhone and her car, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.
On Friday, May 15, the suspect was arrested after a domestic disturbance with the victim in Fauquier County, and the victim told the Sheriff’s Office that he stole her phone and took $1,500 from one of her payment apps. The victim told authorities that she was separated from her husband and dated the suspect for six months.
The victim said she arranged to use her mother’s BMW to pick up the phone from the suspect on Sunday, May 17, before filing a report with the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office. She told police that she dropped off her children in the Van Dorn Plaza Shopping Center and then met up with the suspect, who allegedly said that they needed to drive to Old Town to get the phone. The pair then got into an argument when the victim’s phone rang and the suspect answered it, according to the affidavit.
Onlookers then called 911 to report that a man was beating a woman inside a white BMW near the vicinity of Pendleton Street and N. Union Street. A witness told police that the suspect then took the keys to the car and tried to flee on foot before returning and “made [the victim] drive away with him by means of force, threat or intimidation,” according to the affidavit.
The victim said she drove to a gas station and tried to flee on foot, but the suspect allegedly caught her, pulled her hair and shoved her into a wall.
“Then [the suspect] forced [the victim] to walk back to the listed vehicle and to drive him away once police were not in view,” according to the affidavit. “Later, [the victim] stopped the car because [the suspect] was grabbing the steering wheel and trying to steer the vehicle in a way that may cause an accident. [The suspect] later took control of the vehicle and began driving it while arguing with [the victim] and refusing to let [the victim] depart.”
As the victim and suspect returned to Van Dorn Plaza, the victim told police that she knew her husband was nearby. When they parked the car, the victim said she ran away and was chased down as she screamed for her husband, who “intervened when he observed what was happening,” police said in the affidavit.
The victim said she’d been using her mother’s iPhone, and that the suspect snatched her phone and her mother’s phone before fleeing in the white BMW. He was arrested the following day and charged with robbery using force and abduction by force, both Class 5 felonies punishable by one to 10 years in prison.
The suspect goes to court in a jury trial on Nov. 18.
The victim also obtained a protective order against the suspect after his arrest, and he goes to court on Nov. 23 for allegedly violating that order.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, resources are available to help you. Alexandria’s Domestic Violence Hotline is reachable at 703-746-4911. The Sexual Assault Hotline is reachable at 703-683-7273. Confidential crisis support is also available via RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.
