It was another busy week in Alexandria.
For the second week in a row, our top story was on T.C. Williams High School teacher Gregory Elliott, whose D.C.-based go-go band Experience Unlimited was featured at the Oscars.
crime
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Alexandria Police are actively investigating a harrowing incident that occurred earlier this month in a room at the Days Inn/Super 8 hotel at 110 S. Bragg Street in the West End.
On May 8, police responded to a report of a sexual offense against a woman in room 381. Once at the scene, police found a large blood trail outside the hotel room that continued along the third floor.
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What a week in Alexandria.
Our top story this week is on Gregory Elliott, a special education teacher at T.C. Williams High School. Elliot also goes by the name of “Sugar Bear” for the D.C.-based go-go band Experience Unlimited, and their song “Da’ Butt” from the Spike Lee movie “School Daze” was featured at the Oscars, along with actress Glenn Close dancing to it.
Alexandria Police say that a string of recent smash-and-grab burglaries in the West End are tied to 130 similar incidents throughout the region.
Last month, police investigated five separate incidents that occurred at businesses on S. Pickett Street in the West End on April 23. A juvenile was arrested in connection to the incidents as well as another commercial burglary in Arlington County.
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An Alexandria certified nursing assistant faces multiple charges of identity theft against six residents under her care at Vitality Senior Living in Arlington.
On April 16, the suspect was arrested after allegedly admitting to the Vitality Senior Living executive director that she cashed a fraudulent $1,200 check from a resident in her care.
Details have been released on the 27-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly making bomb threats against Metro, unspecified government buildings and the Alexandria Police Department.
Henock Seyoum Pastoor was arrested by Metro Transit Police last month and charged with threats to bomb or damage buildings or means of transportation. Pastoor allegedly told police that he was “upset with the government of the United States of America and planned to blow up” the Spring Hill Metro station in Fairfax County. He also allegedly told police that he was planning a “terrorist attack on unspecified government buildings and the local Alexandria Police Department Headquarters,” according to a search warrant affidavit.
What a week in Alexandria. Here are some of the highlights.
The Alexandria City Council on Wednesday approved its Fiscal Year 2022 $770.7 million budget on Wednesday, and it includes a 2 cent real estate tax reduction. It’s the first time that’s happened in 15 years, and the budget also fully funds Alexandria City Public Schools’ request and includes a 1% raise for city and state employees.
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A 20-year-old Gainesville woman was arrested last month after allegedly breaking into a home in Old Town and fighting with a witness who is set to testify against her boyfriend in a murder trial.
Essence Amir Heard was arrested on the early morning of April 9 after allegedly breaking into a home in the 800 block of Montgomery Street in the Braddock area. Hours before, the murder suspect called the victim, who has a child with him, after he was informed that his trial would be moving forward after court delays due to COVID-19, and that she would be subpoenaed as a witness.
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Once a week, Alexandria Police are walking through Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority properties with residents.
The visits are part of an effort that launched in January to build trust between police and the mostly Black community in Old Town, which has suffered under the increase of crime during the pandemic.
Alexandria Police have executed an emergency custody order (ECO) for a West End man with a history of mental illness and violent behavior.
As of April 21, Cody Patrick Canniff was under evaluation at Inova Alexandria Hospital after throwing a “large tree” at an Alexandria Police officer outside his apartment building in the 300 block of Yoakum Parkway. The incident was the second mental health complaint against Canniff that day.
Alexandria Police are investigating an incident where a knife was brandished against a woman outside the La Madeline restaurant in Old Town.
The incident occurred at around 1 p.m after the victim was eating lunch with her son at the restaurant at 500 King Street. The woman noticed that the strap to her purse, which was on the back of her chair, was moving. When she turned around, her purse was no longer on the back of her chair and her wallet was gone. There were two unknown men sitting at the table behind her, and she saw one of them fumble with her wallet.