(Updated 2:40 p.m.) Police said two teens were shot in a residential area near Interstate 395 and N. Van Dorn Street on Wednesday night.
Alexandria Police Department received multiple calls at around 8:15 p.m. reporting 15-20 gunshots in a residential area in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue, which is near N. Van Dorn Street and Interstate 395.
One of the victims, a 17-year-old male, was shot in the lower body. The second victim was a 16-year-old male. Both victims were transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Witnesses told police that two suspects were seen jumping into a red and white Mini Cooper and fleeing the area.
Police reported via dispatch that multiple shell casings from a rifle were found at the scene.
No arrests have been made in connection with this incident, according to APD.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a shooting there is a heavy police presence in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue. Two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/g1x5yVSDeA
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 1, 2023
Armed robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of cash last night after holding up Rocklands Barbecue & Grilling Company (25 S. Quaker Lane).
Two men with guns took “everything from the safe,” according to dispatches from the Alexandria Police Department. The suspects fled the area in a vehicle that drove east toward the King St-Old Town Metro station.
No injuries were reported, no arrests have been made, and the incident is under investigation.
The restaurant, which closed after the incident, is located around the corner from APD headquarters (3600 Wheeler Avenue) and the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the police non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a commercial robbery, there is a moderate police presence in the unit block of South Quaker Lane. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/6wvbSTrSUe
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 1, 2023
Map via Google Maps
More details have been released on the method the former general manager of Hank’s Oyster Bar in Old Town used to allegedly steal $600,000 from the company.
The 53-year-old former employee was indicted earlier this month on 17 counts of felony embezzlement after allegedly creating “at least four fictitious employees for Hank’s Oyster Bar and set up direct deposit accounts in their names to which she had access,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The embezzlement allegedly took place over the last eight-and-a-half years. It was discovered when an “internal company investigation revealed discrepancies in the company payroll,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
“It was reported that (the suspect) admitted to the theft when confronted and signed a promissory note drawn up by an attorney for (the owner) promising to pay the money back,” the affidavit said.
Returns from subpoenas served at four separate banks revealed that the accounts were owned by the suspect, according to the search warrant affidavit. The restaurant owner also turned over to police text messages from the suspect apologizing for the thefts.
Each felony embezzlement count carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A trial date has not been set yet.
Image via Hank’s Oyster Bar/Facebook
Updated at 4 p.m. A driver crashed a car into an Old Town business early this morning (Wednesday) and was transported to Inova Alexandria Hospital.
The crash into Casa Rosada Artisan Gelato at 111 S. Payne Street occurred around 1 a.m. The male driver was taken away on a stretcher.
No charges were filed and the incident is under investigation, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
This is the third vehicle reportedly crashing into an Alexandria building in less than a week.
On Saturday, a truck repeatedly crashed into a CVS in Del Ray and thieves tried to steal an ATM machine. Yesterday, a car crashed into a store at the Bradlee Shopping Center, where a handful of storefronts have been struck in recent years.
A U.S. Postal Service employee was robbed at gunpoint of their phone and keys in the Lynhaven neighborhood on Saturday.
The victim was not injured in the incident, which occurred at around 12:15 p.m.
According to dispatch reports, the victim was robbed by a male with a gun, and the suspect fled the scene in a black BMW. Police said on the scanner that the victim was robbed of their keys, which can open any U.S. Postal Service mailboxes in the country.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to an armed robbery from person, there is a moderate police presence in the 100 block of East Glebe Road. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/rPGCmBHYEB
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) May 27, 2023
image via Google Maps
A large black truck repeatedly smashed into the front entrance of the CVS at 415 E. Monroe Avenue early Saturday morning but the would-be thieves failed to get away with their likely target — the store ATM machine.
The truck drove into the business front-first two times at around 3:40 a.m., the store manager told ALXnow. The manager also said that the ATM machine was probably the intended target, but it is bolted to the ground and wasn’t taken.
Three suspects in dark clothing got out of the truck after it smashed through the entrance, but they were unable to extricate the ATM machine, according to Alexandria Police Department dispatches. No arrests were made and the incident remains under investigation.
The truck was damaged in the crashes and left the scene missing part of a wheel well and a side rail, according to an APD dispatch.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number t 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Map via Google Maps
Alexandria Police say that no arrests were made or injuries reported after multiple shots were fired outside a West End hotel late last month.
APD responded at around 9:30 a.m. to the 6200 block of Duke Street for a report of shots fired, and found two bullet casings in the middle of the parking lot, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Police then followed a blood trail to the Days Inn next door to a room on the second floor of the Days Inn by Wyndham Alexandria (110 S. Bragg Street West), where they found more blood, nine rounds of ammunition, a bottle of Johnny Walker whiskey and cigarette butts, according to the search warrant.
Police interviewed a hotel guest staying below the room, who reported that he’d heard a pop earlier in the day but as it was raining dismissed the sound as transformer.
APD said that the investigation into the incident is ongoing and that no victims of violence were reported. Anyone with information can contact APD’s non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Image via Google Maps
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is responding to a commercial robbery at the AutoZone (3705 Mount Vernon Avenue) in the Arlandria neighborhood this morning.
According to scanner traffic, a male suspect entered the business with a “black assault rifle” while two other men with him waited outside. The suspect reportedly took money from the register and the safe.
APD said on social media that no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
Notification:: A commercial robbery was reported in the 3700 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. No injuries were reported in connection with this incident. APD is on scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/5x4y60N932
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) May 25, 2023
Amid a crime surge, Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes said Monday night that the police force is seeing a “plethora” of guns out on the streets.
Alexandria’s gun-related crime jumped 100% in 2022 over 2021, and Hayes says that overall crime is up 27% for the year.
“I can tell you there are a plethora of guns out on the street,” Hayes said at an Agenda Alexandria panel on the crime surge. “I just read the last four daily watch reports that we have. There was one where officers stopped the car and they arrested the individual for having burglary tools in the car and also there was a gun there. Your officers made an arrest of a stolen car the other day, and in the stolen car there was a stolen gun. One of the shootings that happened about probably three weeks ago, up off of Madison Street, everyone one of the three (suspected) individuals that were stopped all had guns.”
Monday’s panel was held at The Lyceum, and included retired Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, Alexandria City High School parent Jennifer Rohrbach and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Strange. It was moderated by Agenda Alexandria chair Rod Kuckro.
Rohrbach witnessed two fights outside Alexandria City High School last year when she went to pick up her child, prompting her to begin advocating for student safety.
“I witnessed two fights in front of the school picking my daughter up on different days,” she said. “And then a student was arrested with a loaded glock very close to the classroom at the front door. So what I did is I started getting involved in online groups and one thing led to another and so here I am advocating for safety in the city and for our kids.”
Hayes said that a lot of the uptick in gun violence is attributable to “crews” of violent youth and stopped short of calling them gangs. He also said that the guns seized are a mix of legal and illegal weapons.
“It’s the beefs that are going on between the crews, some from down Route 1, some from Woodbridge, some from Alexandria, and there is no one particular reason why it’s happening.” Hayes said. “I just think that things have changed and hopefully this is not going to be a norm, we can get a handle on this, and get them to do some other things that are constructive. But I will say this: that it’s been happening a lot, just not the same characters.”
The department’s strategy so far is to add police presence to high-crime areas, putting more cops in communities with public events and the strategically placement of mobile camera units. Hayes also said that his office is in constant communication with neighboring law enforcement agencies, as crime is up regionally and nationally.
Lawhorne, who served as sheriff from 2006 to 2021, said that there need to be harsher punishments for such offenses.
“These notification of shots fired, most are if Rod does something to make me mad, I drive over to his house, I stick my gun out the window, and I discharge it about 12 times with shell casings around the street,” Lawhorne said. “Rod’s going to return the favor. He’s going to drive back to my house and he’s going to do the same thing. That’s a simple explanation of kind of what’s going on… However, it’s done to intimidate others, but it is terrorizing neighborhoods and it’s unnacceptable.”
Lawhorne said that underage possession of a firearm is a class one misdemeanor, as is public discharge of a firearm.
“Unfortunately, sometimes those bullets hit property, or sometimes people, but let me say the majority they’re shooting in the air to intimidate somebody,” Lawhorne said. “Unless I hit somebody or their property it’s a class one misdemeanor. There needs to be harsher penalties for this reckless behavior.”
Hayes also said that the department is also short-staffed, and that significant resources are devoted to an increase in mental health-related calls for service.
“It’s a significant drain on our resources, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight,” Hayes said.
The Alexandria Police Department said they made an arrest in a car theft in Old Town earlier this week and were able to recover the vehicle.
According to the police, the incident occurred on Wednesday when the victim left their car running when they went into a business on the 800 block of Saint Asaph Street.
According to the release:
The Alexandria Police Department made an arrest in a stolen auto incident. On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the victim left his car running while he ran into a business in the 800 block of Saint Asaph Street, and when he came out his vehicle was gone.
Police were able to track down the sedan in real-time using the owner’s GPS tracking software to the 300 block of Braddock Road. On arrival, officers discovered the suspect sitting in the car. APD officers were able to recover the vehicle and arrested… a 27-year-old City of Alexandria resident and he was charged with grand larceny auto.
The suspect was taken to the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center and is currently being held without bond.
