What an eventful week in Alexandria.
Thursday, March 11, marked the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic in Alexandria. As the vaccine rollout slowly improves, the most recent news is the allowance of restaurant workers to get the vaccine. Just over 38,000 doses have been administered in the city, and of that 14,661 residents have been fully vaccinated. The city also wants 80% of residents vaccinated by July 31.
Alexandria Police arrested seven people and seized $158,000 in cash, guns and drugs last week, as part of an ongoing investigation that resulted in eight search warrants being executed in the region.
Police would not reveal the identities of the suspects arrested or any further details, and only listed what was seized in a Friday press release. Seized items included:
Alexandria Police are working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on investigating the steep uptick in gunfire incidents that have wounded city residents and terrorized communities.
There was a 49% increase in shots fired calls for service in 2020 over 2019. Over the weekend, APD released figures showing 57 incidents in 2020 versus the 37 incidents the previous year.
No injuries have been reported after another shooting in Old Town North, this time on Monday night (Dec. 28) near the intersection of North Henry and Montgomery Streets.
“There were multiple shell casings recovered,” Alexandria Police spokesperson Amanda Paga told ALXnow. “A building was hit, but no injuries were reported. It is an ongoing investigation at this time.”
A 22-year-old Alexandria man was arrested last month for receiving a stolen firearm and resisting arrest in the West End.
The man was arrested on Nov. 24 after police responded to a call that a suspect walked into the 7-Eleven store at 4949 Seminary Road in the Southern Towers apartment complex, brandished a handgun and allegedly stated that “he would kill everyone,” according to a police search warrant affidavit.
There were no injuries or arrests after another incident of gunfire in Old Town.
Alexandria police reported a call for shots fired early Sunday evening in the area of North Patrick and Montgomery Streets in Old Town.
Alexandria Man Shot to Death in Georgetown — “Officers from the Second District responded around 2:56 a.m., to the 3300 block of Water St., N.W., for the sound of gunshots. They found Franklin Hernandez Arevalo, 19, of Alexandria, Virginia suffering from a gunshot wound. D.C. Fire and EMS determined Arevalo had died and transported him later to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.” [Patch]
Beyer Says Trump Trying to Steal Election — “This is simple: Donald Trump is openly trying to steal an election he lost. He will not succeed, but we will remember who went along with it. ‘I was just following orders’ will not be accepted as an excuse for attempting to overthrow the results of an American election.” [Twitter]
It was a historic week in Alexandria.
Alexandrians overwhelmingly helped reelect U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Don Beyer, and 80% of voters chose Democrat former Vice President Joe Biden for president over incumbent Republican President Donald Trump.
A 34-year-old Washington D.C. man labeled the Beltway Bank Bandit by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, pleaded guilty to three counts of brandishing a firearm during a series of bank and shoe store robberies in and around Alexandria in 2018 and 2019.
Freddie Lee McRae will be sentenced on February 23, 2021, and faces up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 21 years in prison. On November 13, 2018, McRrae robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in Alexandria, handed the teller a note and demanded money, indicated that he had a gun and said he would “kill all bankers” if his directions were not followed. He then pointed a handgun at two tellers and ran out of the bank with $8,750, according to prosecutors.
Alexandria Police are investigating two incidents of gunfire over the weekend.
The first incident occurred at around 3 a.m. on Halloween morning in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street in the Landmark area. Multiple shots were fired in a parking lot.
What an intense week in Alexandria.
Our top story was on the massive power outages that affected tens of thousands of residents on Friday, October 23. Without providing specifics, Dominion Energy told City Council this week that outages in Alexandria and Arlington were “unique,” and caused by a piece of equipment that failed at its Glebe Road substation. City Councilors responded that there have been at least eight outages since May.
