court | ALXnow - Part 13

Bradlee Shopping Center stabbing suspect implicated by videos on his phone

Published June 6, 2023 at 10:45AM | Updated June 6, 2023 at 3:09PM

Police at the Bradlee Shopping Center where 18-year-old Luis Mejia Hernandez was fatally stabbed on May 24, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

The 17-year-old male suspect facing murder charges in last year’s fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Luis Mejia Hernandez was implicated by damning evidence police found on his phone, according to evidence presented Monday.

Monday’s bench trial will continue into today for the defense to present their case, and a speedy verdict on second degree murder and murder by mob charges is expected from Judge James C. Clark. The suspect faces between five-to-40 years in prison for the second degree murder charge and five-to-40 years for the murder by mob, or lynching, charge.

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Multiple arrests in Alexandria linked to Virginia DMV fake documents scam

By James Cullum

Published May 10, 2023 at 2:45PM

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

Multiple people from DC, Maryland and Virginia have been charged with felonies in Alexandria within the last several months as part of an alleged scheme to get driver’s and commercial driver’s licenses with forged documents, ALXnow has learned.

On May 5, 2022, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles discovered fraudulent out-of-state driving records being used to get driver’s licenses and commercial driver’s licenses, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit filed in the Alexandria Circuit Court by DMV’s law enforcement division.

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JUST IN: Arrest made for 2022 West End murder

By James Cullum

Published May 9, 2023 at 1:05PM | Updated May 9, 2023 at 2:44PM

Dontae Drumgold has been charged with the 2022 murder of a man in the West End (via Alexandria Sheriff's Office)

(Updated 2:45 p.m.) A 28-year-old Prince William County man was arrested for the murder of a 25-year-old more than a year ago, the Alexandria Police Department announced today.

Dontae LaShawn Drumgold is being held without bond in connection with the death of Elijah Williams in March 2022.

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Alexandria woman sentenced 41 months in prison for wire fraud

By James Cullum

Published May 8, 2023 at 10:45AM | Updated May 9, 2023 at 12:32PM

Police car lights (file photo)

A 56-year-old Alexandria woman was sentenced to 41 months in prison for ordering more than $600,000 in cell phones through her former employer, the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, and keeping the money.

The former office manager at YMCA-DC was sentenced Thursday, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. According to court documents, she worked at YMCA-DC from 2007 until her termination in May 2019.

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Fairfax County man sentenced 10 years for 110-mph Duke Street crash that killed man

By James Cullum

Published May 1, 2023 at 3:45PM | Updated May 2, 2023 at 12:29PM

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

(Updated 5:30 p.m.) A 45-year-old Fairfax County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison last Thursday for a 2022 crash on Duke Street that killed a Fairfax County man and injured four others.

Carlos Kami Adar McKethan pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs in connection with the death of 39-year-old Bizuayehu Bulti on the night of Feb. 22, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.

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Alexandria Police arrest two men and recover stash of roughly 13,000 fentanyl pills

By James Cullum

Published April 11, 2023 at 1:30PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Police arrested two men last month and, according to affidavits, recovered a large number of illegal narcotics, cash and other items.

The investigation into the suspects began in November, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Arlington’s suspected air bag thieves accused of 11 incidents in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published January 11, 2023 at 1:15PM

Two Manassas men face multiple charges after allegedly stealing airbags from vehicles throughout the region, including 11 from the 4500 block of Strutfield Lane during the summer of 2022 (Map via Google Maps)

Two Manassas men arrested in November for allegedly stealing air bags in Arlington are also suspected of committing 11 similar acts in Alexandria, according to police.

The 43-year-old and 25-year-old suspects were arrested on Nov. 13 in Arlington and charged in connection with three airbag thefts committed that day. The suspects are also accused of 11 similar incidents in Alexandria between Aug. 25 and Oct. 31, 2022, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Hung jury for California man accused of 2020 West End murder

By James Cullum

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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Loudoun man held without bond after Alexandria police chase, crash on Interstate 95

By James Cullum

Published November 9, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated November 22, 2022 at 10:43PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 23-year-old Loudoun County man is being held without bond after allegedly eluding police, crashing into a semi-truck on Interstate 95 and ditching a stolen gun, weed and a safe into a nearby ravine.

The incident occurred on the rainy evening of Thursday, October 6, after police received an emergency call from an apartment in the 2400 block of Mandeville Lane in the city’s Carlyle neighborhood, according to a search warrant affidavit.

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Tenant arrested for allegedly pointing handgun at landlord in West End apartment

By James Cullum

Published October 25, 2022 at 3:30PM

A 23-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly pointing a handgun at his landlord in a West End apartment.

The incident occurred on the night of Sunday, September 18, in an apartment in the 2800 block of Seay Street.

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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.