A Pennsylvania man was arrested for his third driving while intoxicated offense in five years and driving on a suspended license after allegedly crashing his car into The Majestic Restaurant’s outdoor patio and a number of other cars in Old Town on Thursday, Dec. 28.
The incident at The Majestic occurred at around 1:30 a.m., and the 25-year-old suspect was later arrested at around 6:30 a.m. after allegedly crashing a 2002 Camry with temporary tags into two unoccupied parked vehicles near the intersection of Commerce and S. Payne Streets.
The damages are estimated at around $15,000, according to Scott Bogue, the restaurant’s manager.
“That includes propane tanks, heaters, crowd control barriers, planters, not to mention the time it too the gardener to buy the plants and plant them,” Bogue said. “He hit every single table, every single chair. You would have thought that an 18-wheeler plowed into the restaurant.”
Bogue said that police linked the suspect’s car by a portion of the front bumper that was left in front of the restaurant. Bogue said that Alexandria Restaurant Partners, which owns The Majestic, is not pressing charges and is getting compensated through the suspect’s insurance.
The suspect was charged with driving on a suspended license and for his third DWI in less than five years, which is a Class 6 felony punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine. He was released on a $1,000 bond that afternoon and has his first court appearance on Friday, Jan. 5.
A 20-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced to 10 years in prison, all of them suspended, and five years probation today after the unintentional shooting and killing of his best friend in Lynhaven earlier this year.
Junior Josue Espinal Calix pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of his best friend, 21-year-old Nabel Christopher Chavez. Alexandria Circuit Court Judge James C. Clark announced the sentence after a brief bench trial.
“I don’t think anybody questions the sincerity of your remorse or the sincerity of your intention to do better with your life,” Clark told Calix. “I think that it is impossible for the court to impose a sentence commensurate with the loss that Chris’ family has experienced and to a certain extent what you and your family have experienced.”
Calix admitted to killing Chavez in an interrogation video presented as evidence by his defense attorney, Sebastian Norton. In the video, Calix breaks down into sobs as he recounts the event in his home on E. Reed Avenue– drinking Jack Daniel’s whiskey, smoking marijuana and playing video games with Chavez. Then, as he did with regularity, Calix said, he took out his Polymer80 9mm pistol, which he thought was empty, pointed it at Chavez’s head and pulled the trigger.
Chavez died instantly and it was Calix who called 911.
Calix spent two weeks in jail after the shooting and was released on bond. He’s since been living substance-free, Norton said, and has gotten a job at a local pizzeria, where he works with the victim’s younger brother.
Calix apologized to the victim’s family and his family.
“I will never get another friend, another brother like him,” Calix told the court. “He was such a great person.”
Calix’s mother, Sonia, testified that her son and Chavez were like brothers.
“He’s changed a lot,” Sonia Caliz said. “He’s been working very hard and I haven’t had any problems since he got out (of jail).”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Harsh Vorganti said that the shooting was unintentional, not accidental. Vorganti is part of the Commonwealth Attorney’s property crimes unit, and generally tries cases involving white collar offenses and reviewing financial records.
“The defendant may not have intended to kill Nabel, but he did do so,” Vorganti said. “It was not an accident that he pointed a gun at Nabel’s head. It was not an accident that he pulled the trigger.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, however, noted the “accidental” nature of the incident in a release last month.
“Nabel suffered one gunshot wound to the right side of his face and was pronounced dead on the scene,” Porter said. “Evidence confirmed the accidental nature of the shooting.”
A 16-year-old Alexandria kid charged with allegedly shooting a man in September has been denied bond.
The suspect was charged in October with aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of robbery for the Sept. 22 incident in the 5500 block of Holmes Run Parkway. The shooting left a 21-year-old man paralyzed from a severed spinal cord after being shot in the neck, according to court records.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in court that police allegedly found a .22 caliber pistol and ammunition hidden in the suspect’s closet. They also said that the victim had been buying drugs when he was shot and that bullet fired at the victim is lodged in his neck and can’t be extricated.
Judge James C. Clark denied bond for the suspect and said that he is a danger to the community. Clark also accepted social media photos into evidence of the suspect holding multiple handguns.
“There seems to be a certain amount of pride that the suspect has by possessing guns, drugs and money,” Clark said. “He is absolutely a danger to the community.”
The shooting occurred at around 9:30 a.m. and the nearby Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School and William Ramsay Elementary School were both put in “secure the building” in response to the nearby police activity.
The incident is the first charge against the suspect in Alexandria. His next court appearance is on Jan. 4.
The Alexandria Police Department arrested four teens for a robbery and assault at the Bradlee Shopping Center (3646 King Street) last month.
The victim, also a teenager, was bleeding from the face after being punched near the McDonald’s around 8:40 a.m., according to scanner traffic. The victim told police the suspect took his shoes and wallet. The victim was transported to the hospital.
“Two juvenile city residents were charged with assault and two other juvenile city residents were charged with robbery and assault,” police said in a release.
Police confirmed to ALXnow that the suspects were “in their late teens.”
The Bradlee Shopping Center McDonald’s has been a hot spot for crime, with multiple assaults and the murder of Alexandria City High School student Luis Mejia Hernandez in 2022.
Alexandria City Public Schools leadership said earlier this year they would crack down on truancy and students skipping school at the Bradlee Shopping Center, while the Alexandria Police Department said it would be increasing its presence at the shopping center after school hours.
The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Whelan via phone at 703 746 6228, email at [email protected], or call the non-emergency number at 703 746 4444.
The arrest of the driver of a stolen vehicle caused a temporary lockdown at William Ramsay Elementary School (5700 Sanger Avenue) earlier today.
Police said in a release that a stolen vehicle was recovered and the driver was arrested.
According to the release:
Currently there is a moderate police presence outside of William Ramsay Elementary School at 5700 Sanger Avenue. A stolen vehicle was recovered and the driver is in custody. There was no threat to students and faculty, however, the school is on temporary lockdown until the investigation concludes shortly.
Notification: There is a moderate police outside of Ramsay Elementary School due to the apprehension of a driver and a stolen vehicle. There was no threat to the school, however it’s currently on lockdown until the scene is cleared.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 17, 2023
William Ramsay Elementary School Principal Michael Routhouska said in an email to families that the school was on “secure the building” status from 12:35-12:42 p.m. today:
At about 12:35 p.m. today, William Ramsay Elementary School (Ramsay) was briefly placed in “secure the building” status in response to nearby police activity (unrelated to school operations). Ramsay resumed normal operations by 12:42 p.m.
The decision to secure Ramsay was taken out of an abundance of caution. “Secure the building” means that the school day continues on a normal schedule inside the school but no one is allowed to enter or leave the school while the building remains secured. An Alexandria City Public Schools video provides more information on what happens when a school is placed in “secure the building” mode.
A man was stabbed to death Sunday afternoon in Del Ray, and a suspect is in custody, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
APD was notified at around 4:25 p.m. that a person was stabbed in the 2700 block of Dewitt Avenue near E. Raymond Avenue, according to the police scanner. The suspect was described by police as a Black male with a medium complexion in his mid-30s and wearing a gray pullover sweatshirt and dark pants.
At 4:56 p.m., APD had the suspect at gunpoint nearly a mile from where the incident occurred, at the Exxon station at the corner of E. Monroe and Mount Vernon Avenues. Police said via dispatch, while searching for the suspect, that he is known to frequent Old Town, the Mount Vernon corridor and Potomac Yard.
ALXnow is awaiting more details from APD on the suspect’s identity, as well as the victim’s. More information is expected when the department puts out a press release, an APD spokesman told ALXnow.
This is the seventh homicide of the year in Alexandria.
Notification:: In response to a death investigation, there is a moderate police presence in the vicinity of the 2700
block of Dewitt Avenue. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/147aLnjkvq— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 12, 2023
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested by the Alexandria Police Department on charges related to an armed robbery and shooting in September that left one victim hospitalized.
On Sept. 22, a male victim, age 21, was seriously injured in an armed robbery on the 5500 block of Holmes Run Parkway. The Alexandria Police Department (APD) said the victim was left in serious but stable condition after being shot in the robbery — scanner traffic at the time indicated the man was shot in the shoulder and the back of the neck.
Earlier this week, APD announced:
On October 7, 2023, the Alexandria Police Department arrested a 16-year-old juvenile male in connection with this incident. The juvenile was charged with aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of robbery.
This investigation remains active.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Detective Brandon Smith via phone at 703 746 6159, email at [email protected], call the non-emergency line at 703 746 4444 or upload digital media via the evidence page: here. Tips can be anonymous.
The days of being required to wear masks in public are definitely over. An Alexandria man is being held without bond for allegedly selling Schedule I/II drugs, wearing a mask in public and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The Alexandria Police Department arrested the 25-year-old suspect after responding to a drug complaint outside an apartment building in the 3200 block of Commonwealth Avenue in the city’s Del Ray neighborhood, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The suspect allegedly wore a black ski mask and had black backpack when he was approached by police.
“After a brief foot pursuit, (the suspect) was stopped by the officers and taken into custody,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “During a subsequent search of (the suspect’s) person and belongings, a loaded firearm was discovered in the backpack. Further, a large amount of United States currency and suspected narcotics were also seized from his person.”
The suspect was charged with selling Schedule I/II drugs, selling drugs while possessing a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, wearing a mask or hood on private property and resisting arrest. He goes to court on Oct. 20.
A man was arrested at a Del Ray apartment building Tuesday morning after allegedly trying to flee from police.
Arlington police flagged a vehicle with Maryland tags as being associated with a suspect wanted for attempted murder and followed the vehicle into Alexandria, according to scanner traffic.
The vehicle pulled into the parking lot of Grace Episcopal School around 10:30 a.m. and the driver fled on foot, initial reports suggest. After a brief search Virginia State Police located the suspect and engaged in a foot pursuit that ended at The Aspen apartment complex at 3201 Landover Street.
VSP arrested the suspect in the building around 10:45 a.m., according to scanner traffic.
The nearby Charles Barrett Elementary School was placed on “secure the building” status due to nearby police activity, per Alexandria City Public Schools.
A 34-year-old Alexandria man has been charged with allegedly attempting to abduct a woman in Old Town earlier this month.
At around 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1, a 30-year-old woman flagged down an APD officer just outside the Firehook Bakery at 430 S. Washington Street to report she was the victim of an attempted abduction and assault, according to the police scanner.
Xavier Cooper, 34, was arrested on Sept. 29 and charged with abduction with intent to defile. Cooper is being held without bond in the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, according to APD.
On Sept. 15, the Alexandria Police Department said that it was aware of social media reports regarding the incident. APD did not refute anything that was reported below on NextDoor:
On sept 1, 2023, Friday of Labor Day weekend, a woman was walking across Wilkes Street and South Washington (Street) toward Firehook Bakery and a man following her grabbed her from behind and violently threw her to the ground, then put her in a choke hold and dragged her behind the bakery into the alley. A man in a car at the light turned down Wilkes (Street) and confronted the assailant and (the) woman ran to his car until police arrived. This was reported by police as a robbery and a kidnapping abduction. The gas station across the intersection got it on camera. The assailant has not been arrested.
The investigation is active, and anyone with information can call Detective Michel Matteson at 703-746-6721 or by email at [email protected]. Digital media can be uploaded here. Tipters can remain anonymous.
News Release:: The Alexandria Police Department has made an arrest in an abduction incident.
Read more:: https://t.co/yt1yDlOvXx pic.twitter.com/zKtCEwH1m2
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) October 2, 2023