It was a picturesque day in Old Town for Alexandria’s 42nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Temperatures were crisp in the 60s, as King Street near City Hall was awash in orange, green and white.
|
Commonwealth’s Attorney
|
A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 53 years in prison for murdering his roommate by shooting him in the head as he left for work in the West End.
Dontae Lashaun Drumgold was convicted in May of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a murder in the 2022 death of 25-year-old Elijah Williams. On Thursday (Jan. 9), he was sentenced to 60 years for the first degree murder charge, with 10 years suspended, and three years for the use of a firearm charge. After his release he will undergo five years of supervised probation and must exhibit uniform good behavior for 10 years.
Three prominent Alexandria Democratic politicians threw their hats in the ring for reelection on Tuesday night (Jan. 7).
Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5th), Sheriff Sean Casey and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter announced their intentions to run for reelection at a virtual meeting of the Alexandria Democratic Committee. The meeting was supposed to be held at Alexandria City High School, but went virtual because of this week’s snowstorm.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the new City Council were sworn into office on Thursday (Jan. 2), ushering in a new era of city governance with the new year.
Gaskins is the first Black woman to be elected mayor of the city. She stood alongside her husband and two children and took the oath of office from Clerk of the Court Greg Parks onstage at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center (4915 E. Campus Drive) at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus.
|
More than a dozen Alexandria businesses with skill gaming machines were “put on notice” last month.
The businesses were notified that skill games are illegal gambling machines, and were informed of the legal consequences in a Nov. 19 letter from City Attorney Cheran Ivery, then-Interim Police Chief Raul Pedroso and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.
Alexandria resident Ahmad Reshad Nasseri, 33, was indicted yesterday by a grand jury with two counts of felony rape and one count of felony aggravated sexual battery.
Nasseri, a Lyft driver, allegedly picked up an intoxicated woman at a D.C. restaurant on Friday, July 18, then took her to his apartment on the 5000 block of Seminary Road. Nasseri allegedly assaulted her in the apartment before driving her to the Van Dorn Metro station.
Francis Deonte Rose was sentenced today to 58 years in prison for the 2022 shooting deaths of two construction workers in the West End.
A jury found Rose guilty in May of killing Adrian Dejesus Rivera Guzman, 48, and his stepson, 24-year-old Juan Carlos Anaya Hernandez, on the morning of July 16, 2022 in the northern section of the former Assembly Alexandria apartment complex in the 200 block of Century Place.
|
Francis Deonte Rose was found guilty today of two counts of aggravated murder in the 2022 shooting deaths of two construction workers in the West End. The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is now seeking a life sentence.
After a four-day-long trial, the jury found Rose guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony and unlawful entry. He was found not guilty of burglary.
Go to JUST IN: Life sentence sought as Francis Rose found guilty of West End double murder
Read more
The Alexandria Police Department and Alexandria Commonwealth Attorney’s Office were recently awarded large grants to curb a skyrocketing surge in gun-related crime incidents in the city.
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services recently awarded APD with a $250,000 grant for gun violence and prevention, and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office with a $497,000 grant to prosecute gun-related crimes.
|
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.
|
Helenia Bragg had few options.
After getting arrested last year in her Old Town home for possession with intent to distribute Schedule II drugs, the Alexandria native faced a minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Bragg previously spent the greater part of 20 years incarcerated for three possession charges, and had been clean and sober for eight years before falling off the wagon.