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.
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) — the lead investigative agency — said a suspect was arrested a few days later.
According to a release from the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney:
These charges will be tried before the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria. The Abduction charge carries a potential maximum penalty of life in prison. The Attempted Rape charge carries a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Davis is currently in the custody of the Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections, pending extradition to Virginia to face these charges. A trial date will be set after Davis is arraigned.
The D.C. Department of Corrections told ALXnow it does not release booking photographs to the press.
Image 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.
The suspect and his girlfriend were videotaped at the Alexandria location waiting to be served. The male suspect is seen showing a clerk the functionality of a television that he wanted to sell, while the female suspect then allegedly took an envelope that contained the necklace from the counter, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The female suspect was not arrested. The male suspect was arrested on Jan. 19 and released the following day on a $2,000 secured bond. He was charged with three felonies — receiving more than $1,000 in stolen goods, selling more than $1,000 in stolen property and conspiracy to commit larceny. Each count is a Class 5 felony punishable by one-to-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
The suspect goes to court on March 1.
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.
Weapons seized include three stun guns/tasers, a pellet gun and a knife.
There were 17 students arrested in the first two quarters of the 2022-2023 school year (last year), and 41 arrested in the final two quarters, totaling 58 arrests and resulting in a 26% increase in students arrested over the previous school year.
Of those arrested so far this year, 20 of them were Black students, making up 55%.
There were 95 incidents reported at the Alexandria City High School campuses, 70 incidents at the city’s two middle schools (Francis C Hammond and George Washington Middle Schools), 35 incidents at elementary schools and 13 incidents at K-8 schools.
There were also 118 police calls for service — 56 at the high school campuses, 46 at the middle schools, four at K-8 schools and 12 at elementary schools.
Incidents in the first semester of this school year include:
- 57 incidents characterized as “other” (including two students discussing weapons, four cases of disorderly conduct, two reports of public intoxication, one fraudulent 911 call)
- 56 fights/assaults
- 43 injuries that required medical assistance
- Five confiscated weapons
- Nine controlled substances
- Nine threats (verbal/cyber/social media)
- Six missing student reports
- Four reports of suspicious activity
- Three alarms pulled
- Three reports of sexual misconduct
- Six thefts
- Seven reports of possessing prohibited materials
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.
“I would say at least 50% of our children have experimented with fentanyl,” Johnitha McNair, the detention center’s executive director, told council. “It is highly addictive, so many of them come in with needs to have addiction and withdrawal and treatment services provided immediately.”
The fate of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center has been uncertain for years. Last year, City Council placed the funds into a reserve account until city staff could provide recommendations that:
- Optimize capacity within Northern Virginia for Juvenile Secure Detention services
- Leverage available physical plant capacity for alternative uses
- Pursue new regional partnerships for use of facilities and staffing
Mike Mackey, director of the city’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Service unit, said that the center has reached its capacity of 46 youth over the past year. He also said that detention-eligible cases involving Alexandria youth increased 66% last year, and 100% involving Arlington youth.
“By comparison… in 2020 the average daily population was 12,” Mackey told Council. “In 2022 it was nine, and in this fiscal year the average daily population is 26. The center has seen the population go up to its capacity of 46. Today there are 38 youth 17 of whom are from Alexandria, 10 from Arlington.”
But Mayor Justin Wilson, before Tuesday’s vote to release the funds, chided Earl Conklin, chair of the detention center’s commission and Arlington’s director of court services, for not bringing concrete proposals on new programs and services at the facility to Council.
“Where’s the proposal?” Wilson asked. “If it requires capital investment, bring us something. I, for one, have been yelling asking for that for eight years, and all I hear is, ‘We have ideas. We’re talking about these ideas.’ Where’s a proposal? I mean seriously, if it requires some investment, if it requires something to drive that forward — help me help you — what are we not doing to make that happen?”
Conklin replied, “I think the primary message the board has gotten was of closing the (detention) center.”
“That’s not true,” Wilson interrupted. “Let me be crystal clear. As the one who has been the instigator on this, I have never said that this is about closing the facility. It has always been about how do we optimize the capacity that we have in the region, and whether that means consolidation in Alexandria, consolidation in other jurisdictions, repurposing part of the facility, whatever, it’s not been about closing the facility.”
The detention center is regulated by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and overseen by the Juvenile Detention Commission, which is made up of two members from Arlington, one from Falls Church, and two from Alexandria. It first opened in 1958 and houses youth with serious offenses and behavioral issues from Alexandria, Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. The center saw a 72% reduction in the number of juveniles in the facility between 2006 and 2019, prompting a reduction of beds at the facility from 70 to 46 in 2016, according to a cost-benefit analysis by the Moss Group.
The facility is also home to an unlocked shelter for up to 14 at-risk children.
Deputy City Manager Yon Lambert told council that any proposed programming changes will be presented this fall. In the meantime, Lambert said that an assessment of the detention center will be submitted to the General Assembly in October.
“If we have any budget requests, then we can process it in the fall so that the staff and the (city) manager and council can determine if its viable,” Lambert said.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said that the facility needs to remain open.
“We need it now more than we ever did,” Jackson said. “The numbers were decreasing. and then here we are. They’re increasing again more than they have in years.”
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.
According to a release:
Carrington Hammond, 29, worked with Arizona-based suppliers and local redistributors to sell kilogram-level quantities of fentanyl in the Eastern District of Virginia. Hammond’s co-conspirators mailed packages across the country to Hammond containing tens of thousands of counterfeit pills. The pills had the appearance of pharmaceutical oxycodone but instead were laced with fentanyl. Law enforcement identified one such package containing 50,000 fentanyl-laced pills. Hammond also trafficked fentanyl in powder form, as well as cocaine.
In addition to drug trafficking, Hammond sold multiple firearms during the conspiracy. Law enforcement recovered three firearms that Hammond sold to a local drug redistributor, including a “ghost” gun. A ghost gun is a firearm that is not marked with a serial number and is often made using a 3-D printer, so there is no way to track its origins or owners.
A release from the Department of Justice said police searched Hammond’s apartment on Aug. 10, 2023, and found:
- 5 kilograms of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl
- 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder
- 1 kilogram of cocaine
- 2.5 kilograms of marijuana
- Two guns, one under a couch cushion and a semi-automatic kept next to a safe
Image via Google Maps
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.”
According to the new section:
The proposed ordinance authorizes the City to collect reimbursement of up to $2,500 from an individual(s) responsible for certain reports of a false emergency. An individual can only be liable for such costs if they are convicted of a violation of certain Virginia laws related to terrorism hoaxes, bomb threats, malicious activation of fire alarms, and certain false communications of emergencies… The costs that will be subject to reimbursement would include all costs of providing law-enforcement, firefighting, and emergency medical services. These costs may be calculated by either billing a flat fee or using a minute-by-minute accounting of the actual costs incurred.
The section notes that the fee cannot exceed $2,500 in aggregate.
The proposal comes after a rash of swatting calls, from calls at residences in the city to swatting calls that shut down two local elementary schools.
The new section is scheduled for first reading at a meeting tonight (Tuesday) before going to a public hearing and final passage on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Swatting is dangerous and has victims.
Tomorrow night, Council will be considering a new ordinance (taking advantage of new state authority) that will allow us to seek reimbursement for the costs of “swatting” incidents.
The City has had 25 such incidents in the past 4 years. pic.twitter.com/GJHYa11uoC
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) February 12, 2024
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.
The victim was treated at the scene and was not seriously injured, according to the police scanner.
The area had multiple shots fired incidents in the past.
Barmore was arrested and charged with assault and battery and pointing/holding/brandishing a firearm, which are both Class 1 misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine. He was released that same day on a $1,500 unsecured bond and goes to court on April 19.
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.
Aggravated assaults are up 50%, with 258 incidents reported in 2023. Aggravated assaults jumped nearly 30%, robberies are up 31%, larcenies are up 30% and auto thefts rose 53%.
In his monthly newsletter, Wilson said that the increase in violent crime, in particular, is unacceptable.
“While the year ended with positive trendlines in several areas, the overall increase for 2023, and particularly the increase in violent crime, is unacceptable,” Wilson wrote. “Protecting the safety of our community is the most important obligation of local government. If our residents are not safe, nothing else matters.”
Last year, APD put mobile camera units in high crime areas after a number of shooting incidents in the city’s Braddock neighborhood. APD also told city council that it would combat the crime surge by increasing foot patrols.
Wilson’s comments follow the recent announcement that Police Chief Don Hayes is retiring this month and that the city will be conducting a search for his replacement.
Not all the Part 1 numbers increased, as there were four homicides in 2023, versus six homicides in 2022, and four rape incidents in 2023, down from eight rape incidents in 2022.
According to Wilson:
The underlying causes of the increases in violence (not just in Alexandria, but around the region and our nation) are so varied, that there is no single answer to this issue. However, the City is approaching this uptick in violence using multiple approaches:
- Restoring Police Staffing/Reducing Attrition
- Expanding “upstream” investments (family supports, mental/behavioral health, housing, re-entry programs, etc) proven to reduce violence
- Expanding community policing
- Continue advocacy for new laws in Washington and Richmond to slow the flow of dangerous firearms into our community
In recent budget decisions, we have included new funding for investigatory capacity focused on those responsible for homicides, felony sex offenses and crimes driven by weapons. We have continued to see mental health and behavioral health incidents driving emergency response. The City’s ACORP program, a co-response program pairing a sworn police officer with a mental health practitioner, has seen considerable success. The City Council chose to build on the success of this effort by expanding ACORP by adding two new ACORP pairs, for a total of 3.
The City has hired two of the largest classes of new police officers entering the Academy. As those officers conclude their training, we will make large progress on some of the staffing challenges the Police Department has experienced for the past few years.
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.
APD reported on Twitter that it responded to a carjacking call for service and that two suspects robbed the victim of personal items and fled the scene. One suspect brandished a weapon, but just what kind was not released by police. The incident remains under investigation, according to APD.
Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
APD officers have responded to the 4500 block of Ford Avenue this morning for the report of a an adult male being carjacked. Two suspects brandished a weapon, robbed personal property, and fled. No injuries occurred. APD is currently investigating this incident. pic.twitter.com/GDDbwaPhzS
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 29, 2024
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.
“It’s been an honor to dedicate my life to this community,” Hayes said. “I truly believe there is no greater calling than to serve on behalf of the people. Doing so alongside the men and women of this department for the past four decades has been my greatest accomplishment.”
Hayes’ new position has not been publicly announced. City Manager Jim Parajon called him a “capable” leader and “committed public servant.”
“He built upon years of experience to lead APD through some challenging times including ever-increasing demand for services,” Parajon said. “We wish him well in his next endeavor.”
Hayes restructured the department to resemble how it looked before his predecessor Chief Brown took over, by hiring three assistant chiefs and replacing a civilian assistant chief. The city also experienced a crime surge under his watch, and the department suffered diversity and morale issues.
According to the city:
Hayes joined the Alexandria Police Department in March 1981, and achieved the rank of sergeant in 1996, overseeing the community-oriented policing and internal investigations sections. In 1999, Hayes was promoted to lieutenant and led the special operations, information services, and public services divisions. He was promoted to captain in 2013 and served as patrol commander, in addition to heading the parking enforcement, traffic, special events, and community relations divisions. He was promoted to assistant chief in 2019 and has since used his diverse experience to oversee all parts of the Police Department. In December 2021, he was named acting Chief, and made Chief in April 2022.
