No arrests were made after a stolen car crashed into another car and the front yard of a home in Alexandria’s Potomac West neighborhood early Monday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
Police were dispatched at around 1 a.m. to the 200 block of Tennessee Avenue after a silver Toyota Corolla with Maryland license plates allegedly fled police at high speed and crashed into a parked car and into the front yard of a home, damaging the railing to the front steps. Police determined that the car was reported stolen in Alexandria.
Multiple occupants in the vehicle fled on foot, according to police. Airbags were deployed, and ambulances were not dispatched and there were no reported injuries.
No information was released regarding any other suspects. Police said that the case “may involve” juvenile suspects, but did not provide further details.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
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(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) An Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly carjacking a DASH bus in the West End last Thursday night.
Lorenzo Johnson, 33, was arrested after allegedly carjacking the bus near the intersection of Duke Street and Quaker Road. The incident occurred just before 10 p.m. No weapons were used and no one was injured in the incident, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
“Police immediately responded to the area to find the vehicle (the bus) stopped after hitting one vehicle in the roadway,” APD said in a release.
DASH said in a statement that the bus in question was out of service at the time of the carjacking.
“At the time of the incident, the vehicle was unoccupied and had no passengers on board,” Josh Baker, General Manager and CEO of the Alexandria Transit Company said in the statement.
Johnson was charged with grand larceny auto, drunk in public, driving while intoxicated, accident hit and run property damage, and other traffic offenses. He goes to court on March 28.
On February 9, Johnson was also arrested for allegedly trespassing and being drunk in public, and goes to court for those offenses on March 10.
Baker said in the statement:
One of our DASH employees was the victim of the theft of a DASH bus while on an authorized break. The vehicle was out of service and had no passengers on board. Our driver acted swiftly to notify authorities and was able to overpower the perpetrator, safely stopping the vehicle after a minor collision without any injuries or further property damage. We are grateful and proud of his heroic actions ensuring there were no injuries as a result of this crime.
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Notification:: There is a moderate police presence near the intersection of Duke Street and Quaker Lane. This is in response to a carjacking. No weapon(s) or injuries were reported in connection with this incident. The vehicle has been recovered and a suspect is in custody. pic.twitter.com/KuVz3vJtk7
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 24, 2023
News Release:: APD makes arrest in a carjacking incident.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a carjacking of a DASH vehicle that occurred Thursday, February 23, 2023.
Read more:: https://t.co/okZ0dNMZa3 pic.twitter.com/HMuejZJWR0
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 27, 2023
No injuries were reported or arrests made after multiple shots were fired in the 200 block of Yale Drive last night.
The Alexandria Police Department was dispatched to a residential area directly behind the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center at around 8:30 p.m. There were between six-to-eight shots reported by multiple callers, and police found shell casings and multiple vehicles struck.
The suspects, described as three young males in dark clothing, fled the scene on foot. No ambulances responded to the scene.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
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An alleged dog poisoning attempt in Del Ray has been the big news story in Alexandria this week, but the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) said such incidents are exceedingly rare.
While the story has had some dog owners concerned about other possible cases of dog poisoning, Tony Rankin, chief operating officer for AWLA, said the attempted poisoning is ‘strongly believed’ to be an isolated incident.
“We have not had any reports of this nature in the almost 3 years that I have been here,” Rankin said. “I believe incidents like this are extremely rare, especially in a very dog-friendly community like Alexandria… we strongly believe this was an isolated incident and that the suspect only targeted one specific house.”
Rankin said that the story can serve as a reminder for locals not to leave their pets unattended.
“This said, I have always encouraged people to never leave their pets unattended, even in a fenced yard, and to always keep an eye out for anything that might pose a risk to their pets,” Rankin said. “This applies to their own yard, out on a walk around town, or out on a hike in the country.”
Rankin said it would also be a good idea for anyone with a pet to have poison control’s number readily available.
“I also strongly encourage anyone who owns a pet to keep the ASPCA Poison Control number in their phone, which is 888-426-4435,” Rankin said. “It can be an invaluable resource where a pet owner can get great advice if they think their pet has ingested something toxic.”
John Romano, an Alexandria resident, was charged with attempted poisoning of a companion animal. AWLA’s Board Chair Julie Conway asked that the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney prosecute the attempted dog poisoning case as a felony. Commonwealth Attorney Byran Porter told ALXnow the crime is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail.
The case is set for arraignment on Monday, Feb. 27.
An Alexandria man is being held without bond for an alleged carjacking in the West End on Saturday night (Feb. 18).
At around 8 p.m, the 32-year-old male victim was allegedly held at gunpoint and carjacked in the 300 block of N. Ripley Street in the West End. Police were dispatched to a fight outside of an apartment complex, and were advised that the suspect had a firearm.
Anthony Jermainte Harris, 36, was arrested at the scene and charged with was charged with robbery, weapon possession by a felon, illegal discharge of a weapon, carjacking and attempted abduction.
No one was injured in the incident, and a firearm was allegedly found on Harris when he was arrested.
Harris goes to court on April 14.
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A 21-year-old Arlington man faces multiple charges and is being held without bond after last Friday’s shooting in Arlandria.
Tyayre Reynolds was charged with malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, according to the Alexandria Police Department. He was arrested by the Arlington Police Department in Arlington, and APD will not disclose the date and time of his arrest.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the upper body and suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, which occurred in the area of West Glebe Road and Russell Road at around 1 p.m.
“The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and is expected to recover,” APD spokesman Marcel Bassett told ALXnow.
The arrest was first reported by Patch. Reynolds goes to court for the incident on March 17.
Anyone with additional information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-44444. Callers can remain anonymous.
A suspect in last Friday’s shooting in Arlandria has been arrested, according to the Alexandria Police Department (APD).
The arrest was first reported by Patch, although APD did not release the identity of the suspect, when the suspect was arrested or what the suspect was charged with. APD reportedly received assistance in the arrest from the Arlington Police Department.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the upper body and suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, which occurred in the area of West Glebe Road and Russell Road at around 1 p.m.
Anyone with additional information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-44444. Callers can remain anonymous.
A 24-year-old woman survived a shooting without injuries in Arlandria last Tuesday night, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
APD was dispatched to the 900 block of W. Glebe Road at around 9:45 p.m. after the victim reported that she had been fired upon by a man following her in another vehicle.
The victim knows the suspect, and “believes they were the target of this incident,” Alexandria Police spokesperson Marcel Bassett told ALXnow.
No arrest has been made, and the relationship between the suspect and victim is still under investigation, Bassett said.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-44444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in the 900 block of West Glebe Road. This is in response to reports of shots fired. No injuries have been reported in connection to this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/E4edfv4CkY
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 8, 2023
A 23-year-old West End man pleaded guilty today to a two-count murder indictment alleging that he fatally shot his brother with a rifle.
Enoc Cruz Villafuerte pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree and another count of shooting in the commission of murder in connection to the death of his 24-year-old brother Jonathan Cruz Villafuerte.
Villafuerte, who is being held without bond in the Alexandria jail, admitted to shooting his brother in the chest with a .380 “assault-style” rifle in the living room of their father’s apartment in the 1400 block of N. Beauregard Street on the morning of June 6, 2022, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.
“There were no signs of a fight or struggle between Enoc and Jonathan, and Enoc confirmed with police that he and Jonathan were not arguing or fighting prior to him shooting Jonathan,” Porter said in a release. “Jonathan suffered one gunshot wound to the right side of his chest and was pronounced dead on-scene.”
Villafuerte will be sentenced on April 20. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for the murder in the second-degree charge and a maximum of five years in prison for the shooting in the commission of murder charge.
An Alexandrin man with a long history of credit card theft has been arrested after a string of recent incidents at local businesses in the city.
The 60-year-old suspect was arrested on Feb. 4, and is being held without bond on numerous credit card theft charges, as well as other larceny charges.
The Alexandria Police Department was dispatched to the CVS at 1680 Duke Street on Sunday, January 8, at around 4:45 p.m. for a call referencing stolen credit cards being used. Police saw surveillance footage showing the suspect allegedly trying to buy gift cards with credit cards that were stolen from a purse in Theissman’s Restaurant (1800 Diagonal Road), according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The man was also caught on surveillance footage stealing a purse at Piece Out Del Ray (2419 Mount Vernon Avenue) on Jan. 15, and then another purse at Matt & Tony’s (1501 Mount Vernon Avenue) on Jan. 21. He is also accused of stealing a backpack from Delia’s (209 Hoffman Street) on Jan. 22, and then using keys from inside the backpack to allegedly steal the owner’s 2020 Toyota Corolla, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The stolen car was found parked in front of the suspect’s car at his home, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was convicted of credit card theft in 2014, and spent nearly four years in jail before being released in July 2018.
The suspect was charged with multiple counts of credit card fraud, obtaining credit card numbers, five counts of petit larceny, grand larceny and grand larceny auto. He goes to court on March 1.
