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.
Construction of Inova Alexandria at Landmark is expected to be done in four years, and city staff are in favor of the hospital system’s comprehensive sign plan. Here’s what that looks like.
On Tuesday (Feb. 6), the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Inova’s sign plan for the 10.4-acre development on the 52-acre WestEnd property that was formerly home to Landmark Mall.
No electronic signs are allowed in the zoning districts, according to the city’s zoning ordinance.
According to the city:
The Comprehensive Sign Plan proposes to provide clear and consistent guidance on the quality, design, and materials for building, wayfinding, and open space signs in the site. Per §9-103(C), the applicant is requesting the Coordinated Sign SUP to encompass two blocks plus streets within West End Alexandria. Through the SUP, the applicant seeks to increase the number, type, and area of signage to align with the density, scale, and activity expected within the campus.
Inova’s signs at the site must be approved by a special use permit, and include:
- Digital text or graphic signs, Parking ID, that would be up to 58.75 square feet, freestanding, and on approach to the garage entrances.
- Two types of illuminated signs that may be located higher than 35 feet above the grade… only allowing one such sign per building.
- Site identification and landscape signs up to 97.5 square feet and 65.25 square feet, respectively, with heights of 8.67 feet and 7.25 feet, respectively. § 9-202(A)iii.2 restricts these signs to no more than 24 SF and no taller than 6’ in CDD zoning districts.
- The applicant requests window signage for a secondary building entrance
- Freestanding wayfinding signs that exceed the city’s restriction of a maximum height of six feet, freestanding and parking identification signs that are 8.67-feet-tall, and outdoor recreation signs that are up to four-feet-tall.
(Updated 6:20 p.m.) After a few years on backburner, plans to remediate and redevelop Vulcan Materials — an industrial site near the Van Dorn Metro station — could be reheating.
An application filed by the Lennar Corporation and Potomac Land Group II LLC with the City of Alexandria calls for the remediation of the existing site to create a new mixed-use development. The new project features a hotel facing S. Van Dorn Street, retail, condominiums, townhouses, two-over-two units and a six-acre park along Backlick Run dedicated to the city.
The development would require a rezoning for the site and multiple development special use permits for the various site parcels.
According to the application:
The project will bring several types of housing to the SAP area and will provide many community benefits including the dedication of a 6-acre park, park improvements, and other transportation-related improvements.
A study attached to the application said the hotel would have 256 rooms. The site would have 204 condominiums, 88 back-to-back multifamily units, and 31 townhomes connected on an internal street network.
Permitting for the infrastructure plan and Backlick Park will go to the Planning Commission for review on April 2.
An Alexandria man was charged with felonious assault after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance inside his West End apartment on Wednesday.
The incident was reported Wednesday morning (Jan. 17) at around 7 a.m. in an apartment in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Harvey Lewis, Jr., 67, was arrested after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance in the leg. The victim was treated at Inova Alexandria Hospital for a non-life threatening wound.
Lewis was offered $1,000 bond and is currently being held in the Alexandria jail. He goes to court on Feb. 16.
APD is investigating an incident of malicious wounding in the 300 block of S. Reynolds. This occurred between individuals in the same residence. Minor injuries associated and the suspect was apprehended. pic.twitter.com/6IdI4X7Rp0
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 17, 2024
A man was shot in the leg in the bathroom of a McDonald’s in the Landmark area of Alexandria, and the Alexandria Police Department (APD) is on a manhunt for the suspect.
APD was notified of a fight in the restaurant when two holdup alarms were activated at around 6:15 p.m., according to the police scanner. Police say that the suspect and the victim know each other.
“Two adult males who knew each other were engaged in a fight that escalated when the shooting occurred,” APD Communications Manager Tracy Walker told ALXnow. “The victim sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported for medical treatment.”
No other suspect information was released.
The restaurant closed for the rest of the day after the incident.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the APD non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
(Updated 11:10 a.m.) Police arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle after the suspect ditched the car, ran from police, and ultimately turned to public transit.
Scanner traffic showed that, around 8:30 a.m., police followed the driver into a parking lot when the driver bailed out of the car and ran. Police searched along N. Ripley and Duke Streets, but Alexandria Police Department Communications Manager Tracy Walker told ALXnow that the suspect was able to get on a DASH bus and flee the scene.
The suspect changed buses and got as far as the intersection of Seminary Road and I-395 at 9:30 a.m. before police caught up and arrested him.
Seminary Road at the intersection with I-395 was temporarily closed due to the apprehension, but police said the site should be cleared shortly.
Notification: Heavy police presence near Century Place at N. Ripley & Duke Streets as officers search for a suspect involved with a stolen vehicle. APD is investigating. pic.twitter.com/lWKXWsYVcY
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) December 7, 2023
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 2:21 p.m. on Dec. 6) The Alexandria Police Department says that an arrest was made after a man was injured in an attempted robbery in the Landmark area of Alexandria’s West End last week.
APD responded to an apartment building at 375 S. Reynolds Street at around 2 p.m. on Nov. 29 in response to a report that a man was shot, according to a department release. Police later determined that no weapon was used, and that the victim was assaulted and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
APD said that a man was arrested, but did not release the suspect’s name or charges against him.
According to APD:
While on scene, officers determined the victim was not shot. The man was assaulted and possibly robbed of property. The victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries for medical care. As officers were circulating for the suspect, they located a male matching the suspect description at South Van Dorn Street at Courtney Avenue. After further investigation, it was determined that this man was the suspect in the assault and attempted robbery, he was charged and transported to the Detention Center. The suspect also had a misdemeanor warrant from another jurisdiction.
ALXnow has reached out to the police for suspect information.
The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Raymond Braxton of Fairfax. He is currently being held without bond and was charged with attempted robbery and malicious wounding. Braxton also had a misdemeanor warrant from another jurisdiction, according to APD. His preliminary hearing is on Jan. 17.
Anyone with information on this incident can reach out to the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Updated information: See attached news release regarding the apprehension of a suspect for the assault and attempted robbery that occurred this afternoon on S. Reynolds Street https://t.co/swabTjS5T3 pic.twitter.com/8YocmkIlTS
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 30, 2023
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating a felonious assault in a S. Van Dorn Street parking lot.
A 27-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries during a fistfight in Alexandria’s West End on Saturday night, according to APD. APD said today (Wednesday) that the incident is being investigated as a felonious assault.
Police were called at around 9:15 p.m. for a fistfight between an “unknown number of subjects physically fighting” in the parking lot of the Van Dorn Station Shopping Center in the 500 block of S. Van Dorn Street, according to the police scanner.
APD found the victim on the ground at the scene, and reported via dispatch that he was hit in the face and had a head injury. The department later said via Twitter that the victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
ALXnow has reached out to APD for comment on the incident.
Anyone with information can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification: In response to a felonious assault, there is a moderate police presence in the vicinity of the 500 block of South Van Dorn Street. The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/MTHaoxCzkO
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 12, 2023
With the reopening of the Dash Transit Center at the future WestEnd development years away, Alexandria is looking to ask Richmond to help pay for $800,000 in temporary bus bays, benches and real-time signage.
On Tuesday, City Council will consider authorizing a $544,000 grant application for a new project through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP). If approved, the city would have to foot the remaining $256,000 to pay for 12 shelters at six bus bays, benches and six electronic real-time signs until construction of the permanent transit center is finished. City staff said Council could also tap into the GoAlex Fund, which is funded by developers.
Alexandria was awarded $13 million in SMART SCALE funding for the transit hub, but the money isn’t available until 2026 and construction is estimated to wrap in 2028.
“Currently, this is a high ridership location and key transfer point with more than 500 boardings per day,” City staff said in a memo. “This funding would allow for proper amenities at a major transfer facility serving multiple local bus routes and two future bus rapid transit corridors until a permanent structure is constructed.”
Melissa McMahon, chair of the city’s Transportation Commission, wrote a letter stating that the commission endorsed the application.
“At its October 18 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted to endorse a grant application for funding of up $800,000 through the DRPT FY 2024 Mid-Cycle TRIP New Passenger Amenities category,” McMahon wrote. “The Transportation Commission supports staff’s proposal to request funding to provide passenger amenities at Landmark until the facility funded through SMART SCALE can be constructed, at which point the amenities can be relocated to other high need areas in the City.”
McMahon continued, “This project supports the Alexandria Mobility Plan strategy to improve the rider experience and will ensure that appropriate amenities are available for this major transfer facility at the opening of Duke Street and West End Transitways. It also provides the opportunity to potentially leverage the new developer funded Transportation Management Plan GoAlex Fund for these amenities.”
Alexandria was previously awarded a TRIP grant from its Zero and Reduced Fare category. The TRIP program launched in 2021 to improve “regional connectivity in urban areas with a population above 100,000 and reducing barriers to transit use by supporting low-income and zero-fare programming.”
While the plan is to eventually create a new transit hub in the Landmark Mall redevelopment, the city is looking for grant funding to make the key transfer point more bearable in the near term.
The Transportation Commission is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to endorse a grant application to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation for up to $544,000.
A memo from Transportation and Environmental Service Deputy Director Hillary Orr said the hope is for funding to make improvements ahead of the new transit center, which isn’t scheduled to open until 2028.
“The City requests authority to apply for the new category of Passenger Amenities to provide shelters, benches, and real-time signage at the planned transit center in the West End development until a permanent structure is built,” Orr wrote. “Currently, this is a high ridership location and key transfer point with more than 500 boardings per day.”
Orr said the city was awarded $13 million in funding for the new transit center, but that construction funding won’t be available until FY26. While the full transit center won’t open until at least 2028, Orr noted that bus operations could begin using the area as a transfer point sometime in 2024.
“This funding would allow for proper amenities at a major transfer facility serving multiple local bus routes and two future bus rapid transit corridors until a permanent structure is constructed,” Orr wrote.
The temporary improvements would include 12 bus shelters and real-time signage. Once the transit hub is completed, the city said the temporary bus shelters can be relocated.
The total project cost is estimated at $800,000, with the City matching funding up to $256,000 if the grant is approved.