Bryan Porter | ALXnow

Hung jury for California man accused of 2020 West End murder

Published December 21, 2022 at 10:00AM | Updated December 22, 2022 at 10:46AM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

After a lengthy trial, a hung jury couldn’t reach a verdict against a 24-year-old California man accused of murdering a man in the West End in 2020, and the Commonwealth’s Attorney will retry the case in February.

On Thursday (Dec. 15), the jury remained deadlocked on whether Ahmed Mohammed Shareef should be charged with murder or manslaughter in the Nov. 2020 shooting death of 23-year old Yousef Omar. The jury did, however, find Shareef guilty of racketeering with 20 others for operating a drug trafficking organization between the D.C. Metro area and Los Angeles, California.

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Court orders no social media except LinkedIn for man acquitted by insanity for Old Town murder

By James Cullum

Published September 16, 2022 at 10:00AM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A man acquitted by reason of insanity for a brutal stabbing death in Old Town has been ordered to stay off all social media except LinkedIn.

The news came Thursday afternoon, after 38-year-old Pankaj Bhasin was ordered by the Alexandria Circuit Court to stay off the websites after lying about himself and his whereabouts during a period that he was in prison for murder.

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Alexandria man sentenced 20 years for West End murder

By James Cullum

Published July 7, 2022 at 1:00PM | Updated July 7, 2022 at 10:58PM

A 21-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the Sept. 30, 2020, murder of John Pope in the West End.

On June 30, Tavon Marquis Lanier was sentenced to 73 years in prison — with all but 20 years suspended — for his convictions of second-degree murder, two counts of using a firearm in commission of a felony, grand larceny and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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Fairfax County man charged with vehicular manslaughter and DWI for fatal Duke Street crash

By James Cullum

Published June 29, 2022 at 9:30AM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse at 520 King Street in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 44-year-old Fairfax County man was arrested on June 22 and faces multiple charges for a February 22 crash on Duke Street that resulted in the death of a driver and injuries to other drivers.

Carlos Kami Adar McKethan was arrested subsequent to a direct Grand Jury indictment charging him with aggravated vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of Phencyclidine (PCP), according to the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.

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Three men indicted after bystander shot in neck at West End 7-Eleven parking lot

By James Cullum

Published March 22, 2022 at 2:15PM

The 7-Eleven at 30 Reynolds Street (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Three men are facing years behind bars for the January shooting in a West End 7-Eleven parking lot that left a bystander shot in the neck.

On March 14, the Alexandria Grand Jury charged city residents Maurice Turner, 18, and Donovan Copeland, 20, and Fairfax County resident Damonte Martin, 21, with three felonies: malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.

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PHOTOS: The George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published February 22, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated February 22, 2022 at 10:36AM

George and Martha Washington ride in the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 21, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

The George Washington Birthday Parade returned to Alexandria on Monday after a two year hiatus. The streets of Old Town were lined with celebration for Washington’s 290th birthday.

Alexandria’s health care workers and first responders marched as parade grand marshals. The parade, which started at Gibbon and Fairfax Streets and snaked around City Hall, was attended by thousands. The event is the largest of its kind in the world honoring the founding father and first president.

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The Alexandria detention center population has been declining since 2011, here’s why

By Vernon Miles

Published December 10, 2021 at 11:15AM | Updated December 10, 2021 at 12:22PM

The William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center (via City of Alexandria)

Over the last decade, Alexandria’s jail has been getting a little less crowded.

Since 2011, the average population at the William Truesdale Adult Detention has generally trended downward. Even pre-COVID there was an 18% population decrease since 2011, which only became more pronounced during the pandemic. In 2011, the average daily population in the Alexandria jail was 430. In 2019 it was 352. This year it’s 277.

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‘I must be doing something right,’ says Alexandria’s recently reelected Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter

By James Cullum

Published November 8, 2021 at 2:30PM

Commonwealth Attorney for Alexandria Bryan Porter speaks at the swearing in of Greg Parks as clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court (staff photo by James Cullum)

Bryan Porter says he must be doing something right.

Porter, the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Alexandria, just won an uncontested reelection as a Democrat for his third term.

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BREAKING: California man arrested for West End murder, indicted with 16 others in massive racketeering conspiracy

By James Cullum

Published June 23, 2021 at 3:00PM | Updated June 23, 2021 at 3:16PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 23-year-old man is awaiting extradition to Alexandria for the November 7 murder of a man in the West End.

Ahmed Mohammed Shareef, of Cosa Mesta, California, was indicted by a Grand Jury for killing 23-year-old Yousef Tarek Omar in the 4800 block of West Braddock Road. It was the City’s third and final homicide of 2020.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published May 24, 2021 at 5:00AM

Waiting in line for frozen custard outside The Dairy Godmother at 2310 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Suit alleging admissions discrimination at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology moves forward — “More than 70 percent of the student body at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is Asian American; Black and Hispanic students have been woefully underrepresented there for decades. At a hearing Friday in Alexandria, lawyers for the Fairfax County School Board urged a judge to toss out the lawsuit. They argue that the new admissions policies are race-neutral. But the judge ruled that the parents’ group made a compelling claim that the board’s true motivation was to increase Black and Hispanic representation at the expense of Asian Americans.” [WAVY.com]

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra extends contract for Maestro James Ross — “The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) announced that Music Director James Ross received a contract extension through the 2023-24 season. Ross has been at the helm of ASO since 2018. He is the fifth music director in ASO’s 78-year history.” [Zebra]

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Bryan Porter running unopposed for third term as Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney

By James Cullum

Published April 30, 2021 at 2:35PM

Commonwealth Attorney for Alexandria Bryan Porter speaks at the swearing in of Greg Parks as clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court (staff photo by James Cullum)

Bryan Porter wants to be known for “quiet competence,” except while playing guitar in his office to relieve stress.

Porter, the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Alexandria, is running uncontested as a Democrat for his third term, and says the city has become a safer place under his watch.