crime | ALXnow - Part 25

D.C. teen arrested for murder of former interpreter who fled Taliban to Alexandria

Published March 4, 2024 at 1:30PM

Nasrat Ahmad Yar (image via Facebook)

A 15-year-old Northeast D.C. boy was arrested Friday and charged with felony murder while armed in last year’s shooting death of Nasrat Ahmad Yar, a former interpreter with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, who fled the Taliban in 2021 with his wife and four children and moved to Alexandria.

Yar was working as a Lyft Driver in D.C. on July 3, 2023, when he was shot and killed just at around midnight in the 400 block of 11th Street NE. Video footage near the scene showed four young people running through an alley after the shooting. One of them said, “You killed him,” and another responded, “He was reaching bro.”

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BREAKING: D.C. man indicted on charges of abduction and attempted rape in Potomac Yard

By Vernon Miles

Published February 29, 2024 at 11:25AM

2200 block of Main Line Blvd (image via Google Maps)

Washington D.C. resident Dykwon Perry Davis has been indicted by a multi-jurisdictional jury on two felony charges: abduction with intent to defile and attempted rape.

Davis is charged with the attempted abduction in the Potomac Yard neighborhood earlier this month. On Feb. 3, Davis allegedly attacked a woman who had just parked her car on the 2200 block of Main Line Blvd and attempted to pull her into an alley. Davis allegedly tried to remove the woman’s pants but she was able to fight him off.

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Man charged with three felonies after gold necklace stolen from Alexandria pawn shop

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2024 at 1:40PM

A man was arrested for three felonies after allegedly stealing a necklace from the First Cash Pawn SHop at 516-C S. Van Dorn Street (via Google Maps)

A 29-year-old Washington, D.C. man was arrested last month for allegedly stealing a $1,300 necklace from the First Cash Pawn shop in Alexandria’s West End and then trying to resell it the following day at the pawn shop’s Arlington location.

The 14-karat gold necklace was reported stolen from the shop at 516-C S. Van Dorn Street on August 19, 2023, and the suspect allegedly pawned it the following day at the First Cash Pawn at 89 N. Glebe Road in Arlington, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Alexandria middle schoolers outpace high schoolers in student arrests

By James Cullum

Published February 21, 2024 at 1:45PM

George Washington Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Twenty three Alexandria middle schoolers and eight Alexandria City High School students were arrested in the first two quarters of this school year, according to a report that the School Board will receive Thursday.

There were also 213 incidents requiring a police response, including five weapons-related incidents, 43 students needing EMS assistance, 56 fights/assaults and three reports of sexual assault.

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Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center gets funding (and stern words) from Alexandria City Council

By James Cullum

Published February 16, 2024 at 9:45AM

Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria’s City Council unanimously approved releasing $657,629 to allow the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center to continue operating, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it.

Council was told that the detention center (200 S. Whiting Street) has seen a dramatic increase in usage over the last year, and that the center is pursuing a pilot program with National Capital Treatment & Recovery to introduce a substance abuse recovery program to the unit. They were also told that an unused portion of the facility was being studied for future use.

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Alexandria fentanyl and gun trafficker sentenced to 15 years in prison

By Vernon Miles

Published February 14, 2024 at 9:55AM

Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse (image via Google Maps)

Alexandria resident Carrington Hammond, found guilty of multiple fentanyl and gun trafficking charges, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Hammond was found guilty of selling fentanyl-laced pills that looked like oxycodone and selling firearms with the serial numbers filed off — aka a “ghost” gun.

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Alexandria City Council cracking down on swatting with ordinance to seek reimbursement

By Vernon Miles

Published February 13, 2024 at 2:35PM | Updated February 13, 2024 at 3:05PM

Police at Charles Barrett Elementary School (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s been hit with a series of swatting calls recently and the city is eyeing new legislation that could make perpetrators literally pay for it.

A proposed section of the city code, which Mayor Justin Wilson said takes advantage of authority granted by the state, would allow the City Manager or a designee to bill a flat fee after “determining the reasonable expense of an appropriate emergency response.”

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Man out on bond after allegedly brandishing handgun and assaulting neighbor in Braddock area

By James Cullum

Published February 6, 2024 at 3:50PM

A 33-year-old Alexandria man was arrested for allegedly brandishing a firearm and assaulting his neighbor in the 1200 block of Wythe Street in the Braddock neighborhood (via Google Maps)

An Alexandria man is out on bond after allegedly assaulting a male neighbor and brandishing a handgun in the Braddock neighborhood of Alexandria.

The incident allegedly occurred at around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22 outside the suspect’s home in the 1200 block of Wythe Street. Perry Ellis Barmore, 33, was arrested after allegedly punching the victim in the face during a dispute and brandishing a handgun.

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Alexandria’s Part 1 crime jumped more than 30% in 2023

By James Cullum

Published February 2, 2024 at 10:45AM

Crime scene tape around the Speedway station south of Old Town, scene of a reported shooting (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria experienced a nearly 30% increase in Part 1 crime in 2023, and Mayor Justin Wilson says new initiatives will help stem the flow.

Part 1 crimes, or crimes against people, include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. There were 4,410 total Part I incidents in 2023, an increase of 31% over the 3,361 incidents reported in 2022, according to the Alexandria Police Department Crime Dashboard.

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Police: Man robbed by suspects with weapon in West End parking garage

By James Cullum

Published January 31, 2024 at 2:30PM

A man was robbed in the 4500 block of Ford Avenue on Jan. 29, 2024 (via Google Maps)

A man was robbed of personal property by two suspects in the West End just off King Street on Monday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

The incident occurred in an underground parking garage in the 4500 block of Ford Avenue, a little more than a week after an automobile was reported stolen from that same garage, according to the city’s crime database.

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JUST IN: Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes announces departure

By James Cullum

Published January 29, 2024 at 11:10AM

Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes waves at the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes is stepping down to take a new federal job, the city announced today. His last day is Feb. 9, and Assistant Chief Raul Pedroso will be interim police chief until a replacement is hired in a national search.

Hayes has been police chief since 2022, before which he was acting chief for a year after the departure of former Chief Michael Brown. He started his career with the Alexandria Police Department in 1981.