crime | ALXnow - Part 26

Alexandria CVS stores ransacked of cosmetics and suspect gets busted in Maryland

Published April 24, 2024 at 1:30PM | Updated April 24, 2024 at 1:59PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

A Hyattsville man suspected of stealing thousands worth of cosmetic items from multiple CVS stores in Alexandria was arrested with two others in Maryland earlier this month.

The three Maryland men are suspected of stealing more than $100,000 in merchandise from Target and other stores throughout the region and were arrested on April 19 by a deputy from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. They were charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen goods with the intent to sell and conspiracy to commit retail theft of more than $50,000 in five days.

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More than $50K in luxury handbags and other items stolen from two consignments shops in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published April 23, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated April 24, 2024 at 2:20PM

Alexandria Police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of more than $50,000 worth of luxury handbags and other merchandise from two consignment shops in the city.

On Jan. 26, the owner of Encore Consignment Boutique (119 S. Fairfax Street) reported just after midnight that the front glass door was smashed and that approximately $8,600 worth of luxury handbags and other merchandise was stolen, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The business was broken into again on Feb. 28 at around 5 a.m., and approximately $6,300 worth of luxury handbags were stolen.

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Alexandria woman loses $100K+ in Social Security Administration email scam

By James Cullum

Published April 23, 2024 at 11:20AM

An iPhone (file photo)

An Alexandria woman was scammed of more than $100,000 from a suspect who claimed to be a representative of the U.S. Social Security Administration, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The victim received an email last October from an individual claiming to work for SSA informing her that “her account was being suspended due to fraudulent activity and listed a phone number to contact,” according to the search warrant affidavit.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By ALXnow.com

Published April 19, 2024 at 3:45PM

The proposed apartment building at 901 N. Pitt Street in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

It was another busy week in Alexandria.

This week’s top stories focused on development projects all over the city, from Old Town North to Carlyle and in the West End. News of the mixed-use projects comes as affordable housing advocates are protesting against being priced out and are asking for greater assistance from the city.

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Alexandria police want $20K to monitor crime in real-time

By James Cullum

Published April 18, 2024 at 10:45AM

Image via McEnearney

The Alexandria Police Department is asking City Council to fund an incentive program to help it monitor crime in real-time.

Council will consider the release of $20,000 to help create the Alexandria Real-Time Information Center (ARTIC) at its meeting on April 24.

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Kevin Harris taking second shot in campaign for Alexandria City Council

By James Cullum

Published April 17, 2024 at 3:45PM | Updated April 17, 2024 at 5:57PM

Alexandria City Council Candidate Kevin Harris, a professional basketball trainer who is also president of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority resident association (staff photo by James Cullum)

Kevin Harris didn’t like the way the 2021 City Council primary went down and now he’s taking another shot.

Harris was edged out by just 750 votes, with Council Member Kirk McPike taking the sixth and last available Council spot. Now he faces 11 opponents in the upcoming June primary.

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Man held without bond after dog allegedly executed in West End apartment

By James Cullum

Published April 16, 2024 at 9:30AM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 41-year-old Maryland man is being held without bond after allegedly executing the family dog in a fit of rage, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The incident occurred on Feb. 25 in an apartment in the 4300 block of Raleigh Avenue, which is near the Shoppes of Foxchase on Duke Street.

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No arrest after fistfight leads to gunfire in Lincolnia

By James Cullum

Published April 15, 2024 at 1:30PM

Two men were detained for allegedly fighting near a shots fired incident in the area of Little River Turnpike and N. Beauregard Street on Saturday, April 13, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

No arrests were made after a fight resulted in a single shot being fired from a gun in the Lincolnia area of Alexandria on Saturday afternoon, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

APD was notified of the gunshot at around 3:30 p.m. in a parking lot of an apartment complex in the 6100 block of Lincolnia Road. Police were told that multiple males were fighting, and that the fight was broken up when the suspect fired the gun in the air.

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Despite blood trail, no injuries reported after shots fired in Braddock area Wednesday night

By James Cullum

Published April 12, 2024 at 1:30PM

Gunfire was reported in the area of N. Fayette and Wythe Streets in Old Town on April 10, 2024 (via Google Maps)

No arrests were made or injuries reported after a hail of gunfire was reported in the Braddock neighborhood of Alexandria on Wednesday night, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

Multiple 911 calls were made at around 8:40 p.m. with witnesses describing a man firing a gun approximately 25 times in the area of N. Fayette and Wythe Streets. The suspect was then seen getting into a gray four-door sedan with another suspect, the driver, which then sped south down N. Fayette Street and the east on Pendleton Street, according to dispatch reports.

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Alexandria police investigating white supremacist fliers posted in Potomac Yard

By James Cullum

Published April 11, 2024 at 1:30PM | Updated April 11, 2024 at 8:47PM

Racist fliers were posted in Potomac Yard, March 2024 (Courtesy photo)

Updated at 8:45 p.m. The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the posting of racist fliers in the Potomac Yard neighborhood of the city.

Four fliers were discovered posted in the 2100 block of Potomac Avenue on March 15, according to a resident who provided photos and information to ALXnow.

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Alexandria lecture explores harrowing story of woman who killed her children rather than have them sold into slavery

By Vernon Miles

Published April 10, 2024 at 10:45AM

1315 Duke Street after March 1863 by Andrew Russell (or Mathew Brady), image via City of Alexandria

Dorcas Allen faced an impossible choice.

In 1837, Allen was sold, along with her four children, to a slave trader and sent to a pen on Duke Street — where the Freedom Museum stands today.