It’s finally Friday in Alexandria!
Here’s a look back at our top stories of the week. Topping off our coverage are the delectable poll results on the top three Mexican restaurants in the city. More than 1,800 foodies cast their votes, and Taqueria el Poblano (2400B Mount Vernon Avenue) in Del Ray took the top spot, followed by Taqueria Picoso (1472 N. Beauregard Street) and Los Tios Grill (2615 Mount Vernon Avenue). Do you agree with the results?
After three years in a row of rising crime in Alexandria, it’s finally trending in the right direction.
Part 1 crimes, or crimes against people, include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. There were 1,133 total Part I incidents from Jan. 1 to April 30 this year, a decrease of 23%, according to the Alexandria Police Department Crime Dashboard.
Juveniles have been identified as the suspects behind an assault by mob in Old Town North that resulted in a man’s death.
The victim, later identified as 54-year-old John Andreadakis, was lying down in the community room of The Bloom apartment building at 900 N. Henry Street at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, 2024, when seven suspects were captured on surveillance video walking into the room, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
After his motorcycle was stolen during a test drive, an Alexandria man tracked it down days later on Facebook Marketplace.
The incident occurred at the victim’s business in the 4900 block of Eisenhower Avenue on Thursday, March 20. The victim listed his blue 2004 Suzuki GSX-R9600 for sale on Facebook Marketplace, and the suspect reached out via Facebook Messenger and asked for a test drive, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The suspect allegedly took the bike for a ride and never returned, and on March 25 the victim found the motorcycle listed in another Facebook Marketplace ad.
An Alexandria Police Department officer has been awarded full compensatory damages in his racial discrimination lawsuit against the city.
Delton Goodrum and his family erupted in tears of joy after the verdict was read. After a four-day-long trial before U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, the jury deliberated for less than three hours to find that then-Police Chief Don Hayes, who is Black, racially discriminated against Goodrum, who is also Black, in his years-long bid to be promoted to Captain. The jury found that Goodrum’s rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were violated and ordered that he be compensated $7.25 million, although awards in discrimination lawsuits under Title VII are capped at $300,000.
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is inviting the community to participate in Alexandria Police Week, a series of events that honor fallen officers and support their families.
The department shared details about the upcoming events on Facebook on May 3.
It’s been an intense week in Alexandria.
Here’s a look back on this week’s top stories. Our most-read post was on the shooting of three men in Arlandria on Sunday night (April 27). Police found the victims with gunshot wounds shortly after being called at around 9 p.m. They were transported to area hospitals, and no arrests have been announced. Witnesses heard a barrage of gunfire, and the Alexandria Police Department is asking for help in the investigation.
A North Carolina murder suspect was recently arrested in Alexandria and has been charged with murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.
The victim, 25-year-old Jose Alexander Lara Hernandez, was shot to death in Charlotte on April 19. Two days later, the Alexandria Police Department was notified by a license plate reader that a car belonging to the suspect, Danny Cardoza Lara, was located in the parking lot of a hotel in the 100 block of S. Bragg Street in the city’s West End.
A woman is safe after allegedly being abducted and assaulted by a naked man along the Mount Vernon Trail in Old Town North earlier this month.
“The suspect pinned both of her forearms down and she fought to break free,” police said a recently released search warrant affidavit. “(The victim) said she realized the suspect was fully naked when he was on top of her and she saw his penis. (The victim) tried to push him away specifically with her right hand to the suspect’s left arm. (The victim) said she yelled and the suspect covered her mouth with his hand. The suspect told her, ‘Do you want to die?'”
The Alexandria City Council voted 5-2 to approve changes to the Independent Community Police Review Board ordinance, bringing an end to a years-long process to get the board fully operational.
The approved changes include limiting the board’s subpoena power to documents only and requiring City Council approval for investigations when there’s disagreement between the board and the independent auditor.
A shooting in Alexandria’s Arlandria neighborhood has left three men injured. The incident occurred on Sunday (April 27) just after 9 p.m. in the area of the 3800 block of Old Dominion Boulevard and the 600 block of Notabene Drive.
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) had initially been dispatched to West Glebe Road for reports of gunfire and a report of a victim shot in the back.
