The Alexandria Police Department just announced three major new hires.
APD announced Monday that it will welcome new Assistant Police Chiefs Raul Pedroso and Tina Laguna, as well as Communications Manager Tracy Walker.
“We are expanding APD leadership at a necessary time when our community is looking to us for more information sharing and innovative approaches to crime reduction,” Hayes said. “We look forward to the incoming expertise they will bring to further bolster our collective commitment to public safety in Alexandria.”
The assistant chief positions have been vacant since Police Chief Don Hayes was formally promoted in April 2022. The new hirings restructure the department to have three assistant police chiefs, as opposed to the two assistant chiefs (one of whom was a civilian) under previous APD Chief Michael L. Brown.
Pedroso will be the department’s assistant chief and commander of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. In that role, he will lead APD criminal investigations, crime scene investigations and Special Investigations. Pedroso was previously a major in the Coral Gables Police Department in Florida. He attended the FBI National Academy and has a master’s of science degree in criminal justice from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Florida, according to his LinkedIn page.
Laguna will take charge of the APD Administrative and Technology Bureau, as well as “areas related to accreditation, training and recruitment, along with fleet, facility, and records management,” according to APD. She is currently the assistant chief overseeing investigative services at the Manassas City Police Department, and is the first Black woman to achieve the rank. She has a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Law, and Society from George Mason University, according to MCPD.
Walker was the public affairs director for the Richmond Police Department since 2021. She has been in marketing and public affairs for decades and has a bachelor of the arts degree from the University of Texas San Antonio, according to her LinkedIn page.
Pedroso and Laguna will formally join the department on Oct. 23 and Walker started on Monday, according to APD.
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
A 46-year-old Alexandria man was charged with two counts of brandishing a firearm earlier this month after allegedly pointing a CO2-powered handheld pistol at a contractor working in his West End home.
On Sept. 5 (Tuesday), the contractor called police after the resident, Greco Gomez, allegedly brandished a firearm against him. The victim told police that he was working in the basement and took the trash outside and was “shocked” when Gomez allegedly threatened to shoot him, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim told police that Gomez allegedly pulled a black pistol from his waistband, pointed it at the victim’s abdomen, turned and then walked back to the entrance of the two-story house. At the front door, Gomez, who is a tenant in the home, then allegedly turned around and pointed the pistol at the contractor again, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police found that Gomez is a convicted felon prohibited from owning firearms and charged him with two counts of brandishing a firearm, according to the search warrant affidavit.
No firearm was found. Instead, police searched his room and confiscated a Byrna SD handheld pistol, three magazines, four empty ammunition tubes and boxes of CO2 cartridges, according to a search inventory.
The Byrna SD is legal in all 50 states, and does not require a background check for purchase. It costs $379.99, and has an effective range of 60 feet, according to Byrna. The company says their pistols are not firearms, since they are powered by compressed CO2 cartridges, like airsoft and paintball guns.
Byrna also sells three different types of hard plastic “Less-Lethal Self-Defense Ammo,” featuring “some of the strongest chemical compositions on the market,” the company said on its website. Additionally, the kinetic projectiles the company sells can reportedly break the side glass window of a vehicle from 30 feet away.
According to Byrna, the physical effects of being shot by one of their projectiles include: “Burning in the throat, inability to breathe, shortness of breath, nausea and excruciating physical pain.”
Gomez goes to court on October 10.
A 28-year-old Alexandria man was charged with peeping into a dwelling last month in the West End.
Police were alerted after midnight on Sunday, Aug. 27, that a man was allegedly peering through the windows of a lower-level apartment in the 700 block of N. Howard Street. A witness told police that the suspect would hide when anyone approached and then would return to the window, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The suspect allegedly ran from police and then jumped into his Toyota Rav4 a few blocks away, turned off the lights and hid in the trunk area, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect “admitted he had been looking into the window at the incident location and fled from police upon their arrival,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect then reportedly told police that he “has a prior peeping tom conviction from 2020, also in the City of Alexandria,” according to the search warrant affidavit. Those previous charges against the suspect were dismissed in Nov. 2020, according to court records.
The suspect was charged with peeping into a dwelling, arrested and released that same day on a $5,000 unsecured bond. He goes to court for the alleged offense on Oct. 10.
A 34-year-old Arlington man is being held without bond after allegedly robbing his girlfriend’s ex of his clothes and other items at gunpoint.
The suspect was arrested for armed robbery on Sept. 14, nearly two months after the July 18 incident.
The victim reported to police that, on July 17, he had a phone argument with his child’s mother and her boyfriend. The following day, while sitting outside in front of the Popeyes at 3402 Mount Vernon Avenue, the victim observed the suspect and an unknown driver pull up in a white Kia Optima, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim told police that he approached the suspect on foot after the suspect got out of the vehicle and approached him.
The victim said that the suspect then stepped back, took a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at him. The victim reported that the suspect stole his clothes and other items, and that the suspect then posted a video on Instagram of the victim sitting on a crate, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police took the suspect’s iPhone into possession and described the video in the affidavit.
The suspect goes to court on Oct. 5.
The city’s Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program is open, and hotlines are available 24/7 at 703-684-7273 [Sexual Assault Hotline] or 703-746-4911 [Domestic Violence Hotline]. Online support is also available with The National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.
There were no injuries or arrests after gunfire was reported in the West End early Friday morning — a separate incident from the other West End shooting this morning where one victim was injured.
Multiple callers reported four shots were fired at around 12:30 a.m. in the 4300 block of King Street near Park Center Drive, according to the police scanner.
No one was injured in the incident and no arrests were made. Witnesses reported to police that the shots were fired from a gray-colored GMC, which fled the scene in the area of Interstate 395, according to the police scanner.
Police found shell casings near Park Center Drive and King Street, according to the police scanner.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shots fired incident, there is a moderate police presence near and around the 4300 block of King Street. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/XCUyyzkmqX
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) September 22, 2023
Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 26% increase in student arrests last school year, and a disproportionate number of arrested students are Black males.
There were 58 ACPS students arrested last school year, according to a school safety report to be presented to the School Board on Thursday. There were also 32 weapons-related incidents, 100 students injured, 112 fights/assaults and five reports of sexual misconduct.
The news follows an ACPS report revealing that most of Alexandria’s middle and high school students feel unsafe.
There were 451 incidents requiring a police response within Alexandria City Public Schools in the 2022-2023 school year — 188 incidents in the first two quarters of the year and 263 incidents in the final two quarters. That’s a 17% increase over the 385 incidents in the 2021-2022 school year.
While 25% of ACPS students are Black, most of those arrested are Black males.
Middle School Arrests (27)
- Black male — 14
- Hispanic male — 4
- Black female — 4
- Hispanic female — 3
- White male — 2
High School Arrests (31)
- Black male — 18
- Hispanic male — 6
- Black female — 4
- White male — 3
- Hispanic female — 2
Weapons seized include a handgun, two BB guns, stun guns, tasers, knives, pepper spray and a box cutter.
ACPS made a number of safety improvements in the 2022-2023 school year, like new ID requirements for students, designating entrances and exits at schools, installing metal detectors, and renewing its partnership with the police department to provide school resource officers.
Incidents in the 2022-2023 school year include:
- 112 fights
- 116 incidents characterized as “other” (parking lot accidents, trespassing, mental health episodes, property lost/damaged)
- 100 injuries requiring medical assistance
- 32 confiscated weapons
- 21 reports of controlled substances recovered
- 19 threats (verbal/cyber/social media)
- 16 missing student reports
- Seven reports of suspicious activity
- Five alarms pulled
- Five reports of sexual misconduct
- Three thefts
- One report of possessing prohibited materials
There were 175 incidents reported at the Alexandria City High School campuses, 183 incidents at the city’s two middle schools, 43 incidents at K-8 schools and 50 incidents at elementary schools.
The Alexandria Police Department says it is investigating multiple weapons violations over the weekend, including a man who was shot in the shoulder in a suspected carjacking in the West End.
The first incident occurred on Saturday, Sept. 17, around midnight in the 2000 block of N. Beauregard Street. The victim reported to police that her Airbnb guest pulled a handgun on her and fled the area in a black Kia Forte, according to the police scanner.
The suspect was later arrested on I-395 south near the exit for Edsall Road, according to the police scanner. The suspect reportedly provided police with a fake identification, and three handguns were found in the vehicle, according to the police scanner.
The second incident occurred on Saturday around 10:15 p.m. in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street in the Landmark area. A man was shot in the shoulder and reported to police that he was the victim of an attempted carjacking.
The third incident occurred in the 12oo block of Quaker Hill Drive. Four gunshots were reported by multiple callers to police, although no suspects were seen and no arrests were made, according to the police scanner.
Anyone with information on these incidents can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
A 51-year-old Alexandria man was killed in a crash last week near the Eisenhower Avenue exit on Interstate 495.
Virginia State Police reported that Martin Warner, Jr. was killed at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, when his 2003 Mercedes Benz crashed into a tractor-trailer that had to “rapidly slow in speed” due to mechanical issues.
Warner was not wearing his seatbelt and was killed. The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 36-year-old Arlington resident, was wearing his seatbelt and was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
The crash remains under investigation, according to VSP.
Alexandria police on Friday arrested a fugitive who escaped from prison in Wisconsin on Monday, Sept. 11.
The Alexandria Police Department arrested 38-year-old Dustin Bone in the area of King and N. West Streets in Old Town at around 5 p.m. after an officer used a license plate reader and determined that the black pickup truck he was driving was stolen, according to an APD news release and the police scanner.
Bone was arrested more than 900 miles from the minimum-security Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Bone was arrested without incident and is currently held in the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, according to APD.
He was convicted of armed robbery in 2016, sentenced to seven years in prison and was reportedly two months away from his scheduled release.
