The body of the man found at Four Mile Run Park on Tuesday has been identified as Kevin Isaías of El Salvador by Telemundo 44, though police won’t confirm the victim’s identity.
Telemundo 44 was the first to report the identity of the man, and was told by his family that he was a married father with a daughter and a baby on the way. The family also told the outlet that he left for work at 6 a.m. and that they were clueless as to what led to his death.
The Alexandria Police Department has released few details on the incident, except to say that they responded at 1:27 p.m. that day and found an adult male dead in the water in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue in Four Mile Run Park.
APD classified the incident as a suspicious death — the second to occur this week following Monday’s suspicious death of a 50-year-old man at The Bloom building in the Braddock neighborhood of the city. Police also did not answer questions on that incident.
Anyone with information on either of these incidents can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
(Updated at 12:30 p.m. on April 25) The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is conducting a death investigation near Four Mile Run Park at 4100 Mount Vernon Avenue.
Police responded to a call about a body around 1:30 p.m., according to scanner traffic.
According to an APD release:
This afternoon, at approximately 1:27 PM, the Alexandra Police Department responded to a call for the report of a deceased person in the river in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue, near Four Mile Park. Officers discovered an adult male who was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
APD is currently conducting a death investigation near Four Mile Park in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue where a person was found deceased. Please avoid the area. The investigation is active and no further information is available at this time. pic.twitter.com/48DC45myvH
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 24, 2024
James Cullum and Vernon Miles contributed to this story
A Hyattsville man suspected of stealing thousands worth of cosmetic items from multiple CVS stores in Alexandria was arrested with two others in Maryland earlier this month.
The three Maryland men are suspected of stealing more than $100,000 in merchandise from Target and other stores throughout the region and were arrested on April 19 by a deputy from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. They were charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen goods with the intent to sell and conspiracy to commit retail theft of more than $50,000 in five days.
“Amazing work to the quick acting deputies to prevent further retail larcenies in not only Stafford, but the DMV area,” the Stafford Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
In Alexandria, there were at least six incidents at six different CVS stores during February and March, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The incidents are all similar — two Black males wearing ski or surgical masks walk into the store and then place items in the cosmetic section into large bags, then walk out the store and into a car that’s waiting with the engine running.
Thefts were reported at the following CVS stores:
- 1462 N. Beauregard Street, Feb. 24 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a blue Subaru Crosstrek with Maryland plates
- 5101 Duke Street, Feb. 24 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
- 3120 Duke Street, Feb. 29 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
- 4515 Duke Street, Feb. 29 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
- 2601 Richmond Highway, March 4 — No suspect vehicle seen
- 501 King Street, March 8 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a black Hyundai with Maryland plates
- 433 S. Washington Street, March 8 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a black Hyundai
On March 8, the manager of the CVS at 433 S. Washington Street in Old Town told police that the three suspects walked in wearing black clothing, and black ski masks or surgical masks, according to the search warrant affidavit. The manager said the suspects placed cosmetic items in large bags and that they walked out of the store and into an awaiting vehicle.
The black Hyundai with Maryland license plates fled southbound, and during their investigation police received a license plate reader alert, “showing a stolen black Hyundai Elantra with Maryland tags in the area of Braddock Road and Mount Vernon Avenue,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.
Police located the stolen Hyundai near the CVS on S. Washington Street and were involved in a brief chase, but lost sight of the suspects when they crossed from the city into Fairfax County by driving onto the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
“(T)he vehicle operated by an unknown driver fled from them at a high rate of speed from S. Washington Street southbound towards Fairfax County,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “APD officers attempted to deploy a global positioning systems device on the fleeing vehicle before losing sight of (it) southbound on the George Washington Parkway.”
The Hyundai was recovered in Hyattsville near on March 9 by the Prince George’s County Police Department. It was released to its owner, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Another car was also seen fleeing the scene of multiple incidents in February — a blue Subaru Crosstrek with a Maryland license plate. Police contacted the owner of the license plate, who said it stolen from his daughter’s car.
The Bowie Police Department also found that there was a similar theft from a CVS store on Feb. 21, with two Black males allegedly stealing cosmetics and fleeing in a blue Subaru, according to the search warrant affidavit.
On March 12, CVS’s regional investigation officer provided APD with two internal case files identifying one of the suspects that was arrested in Stafford County on April 18. APD determined that the Hyattsville suspect lived on the same street from where the stolen Hyundai was recovered. Additionally, a video camera captured the stolen Subaru driving along that same street, according to the search warrant affidavit.
No charges have been made in the Alexandria incidents.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office put out a press release after making the arrests:
On April 18th at approximately 11:45 a.m. deputies responded to Target, located at 1090 Stafford Market Place, for a larceny in progress. Staff advised a group of males, who they had seen stealing before, were currently concealing skin care items into a large bin. As deputies arrived, the suspects fled out a fire exit with the stolen items.
Due to law enforcement agencies having stronger communication skills than a teenage couple, deputies were already well aware of this group. It was reported they were involved in an organized retail theft ring that involved numerous Target stores stretching all the way to Maryland. It was also reported these three musketeers traveled in a black Nissan Rogue with a Maryland license plate. With this information, it did not take Deputy J.E. Alford long to locate the Nissan with all three suspects inside at the traffic light for Stafford Market Place and Garrisonville Road. A high-risk stop was conducted and all three were taken into custody without incident. Not surprisingly, stolen Target items were located within the vehicle.
…All three were charged with four counts of grand larceny, two counts of possession of stolen goods with intent to sell, and conspiracy to commit retail theft greater than $5,000 within 90 days. All three were held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond. The investigation is still ongoing.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of more than $50,000 worth of luxury handbags and other merchandise from two consignment shops in the city.
On Jan. 26, the owner of Encore Consignment Boutique (119 S. Fairfax Street) reported just after midnight that the front glass door was smashed and that approximately $8,600 worth of luxury handbags and other merchandise was stolen, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The business was broken into again on Feb. 28 at around 5 a.m., and approximately $6,300 worth of luxury handbags were stolen.
On Feb. 29 at around 4 a.m., the glass door of Vida Style at 210 N. Lee Street was smashed and the owner reported that $50,000 in luxury handbags and other items were stolen.
Vida Style owner Alicia Valencia told us that the store’s top-shelf bags and jewelry were stolen, and that she had to get a front glass door replaced.
“I don’t think I ever felt more of a spirit of community than after this happened,” Valencia said. “My team and everyone jumped in to help. There was fingerprint dust everywhere, and we cleaned that up and I called Del Ray Hardware and they helped me with their glass guy and the glass in the front door was replaced within an hour.”
The suspect(s) were videotaped driving a black Toyota Sienna minivan with Virginia plates, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Anyone with information on these incidents can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Got any spare drugs? In an effort to curb misuse, Alexandria is asking residents to drop off expired prescription medication on Saturday (April 27).
It’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. residents can drop off their unneeded prescription drugs (including pet medication) at:
- Alexandria Police Department Headquarters (3600 Wheeler Ave.)
- Fire Station 210 (5255 Eisenhower Ave.)
- The Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray (2204 Mt. Vernon Ave.)
- Walgreens Pharmacy (3614 King St.)
Expired and unused medication is “highly susceptible to misuse, especially opioid prescriptions,” the city said in a release. Additionally, many drugs are environmentally hazardous and can contaminate waterways if flushed.
Last year’s Drug Take Back Day took in 2,647 pounds of unused medication in Alexandria — a 40% increase over 2022.
The drop-offs will be staffed by the Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff’s Office.
Needles are not accepted at the event, and can be dropped off at other permanent medication locations, according to the city.
If you can’t make it to the drop-off event, the city recommends the following:
- Remove medication from its original container. Do not crush
- Mix medication with an inedible substance, such as kitty litter or coffee grounds
- Place mixture in a sealable bag or container and throw away in the trash
- Black out all personal information on the prescription label so it is unreadable
Photo via DCHS/Facebook
It was another busy week in Alexandria.
This week’s top stories focused on development projects all over the city, from Old Town North to Carlyle and in the West End. News of the mixed-use projects comes as affordable housing advocates are protesting against being priced out and are asking for greater assistance from the city.
Politics-wise, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins celebrated two recent victories in her Democratic primary race for mayor. Gaskins is leading with fundraising, having raised $149,107 with $69,425 on-hand, according to quarterly campaign finance reports released Monday. Her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson has raised $59,984 and has $22,682 on-hand, while former real estate developer Steven Peterson has raised $44,700 with $14,019 on-hand.
Gaskins also handily won the recent Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Straw Poll by 81%, followed by 16% for Jackson and 3% for Peterson. The primary is on June 18.
On Tuesday, we reported on a new movement to return Alexandria’s City Council to ward/district representation. While the nine-member Alexandria School Board is divided into three districts, the seven members of City Council are at-large, representing the entire city. The Communities for Accountable City Council is a self-described non-partisan group of city residents “exasperated with the intransigent Alexandria City Council that is unaccountable to communities and neighborhoods because of Alexandria’s At-Large election system.”
In our poll this week we asked whether City Council should return to a ward system. Out of the more than 500 votes, 57% voted yes and 43% voted no.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Notes: Old Town North building sold for $15.4 million to be turned into mixed-use apartment building (8413 views)
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (4987 views)
- Alexandria City Council approves new ‘neighborhood’ at former Vulcan Materials site (4603 views)
- CVS set to close in Taylor Run neighborhood on Duke Street (3611 views)
- Affordable housing advocates rally outside Alexandria City Hall (3559 views)
- No arrest after fistfight leads to gunfire in Lincolnia (3351 views)
- Notes: Fundraiser for motorcyclist killed on Duke Street raises thousands (2390 views)
- Local organization forms to push Alexandria back to district/ward elections (2303 views)
- Mystic BBQ & Grill opens on Lee Street in Old Town (2235 views)
Have a safe weekend!
The Truist bank at 2809 Mount Vernon Avenue is temporarily closed today (Friday) after an alleged altercation with a former employee.
A former employee who had been terminated allegedly told bank staff that they “had a gun in the car and would be right back,” per scanner traffic.
Bank employees locked the doors at the bank and called police around 1:20 p.m.
As of 1:35 p.m. the bank was still closed with Alexandria Police cars parked around the building and officers inside speaking to bank staff.
James Cullum and Vernon Miles contributed to this story
The Alexandria Police Department is asking City Council to fund an incentive program to help it monitor crime in real-time.
Council will consider the release of $20,000 to help create the Alexandria Real-Time Information Center (ARTIC) at its meeting on April 24.
City staff said in a memo that ARTIC will establish a “doorbell camera registry, phased implementation of security cameras (license plate readers) and future integration with privately owned security camera systems.”
The city has experienced a crime surge the last several years. APD said that the main goal of the program is to monitor and analyze data in real-time and enhance public safety.
City Council placed the funds in a reserve account during last year’s budget process. The initial plan was to encourage homeowners and business owners to be incentivized to buy private security cameras, but the City Attorney found a number of “legal hurdles” to creating such a program.
Last year, Council also approved $490,000 for five speed cameras at school crossing zones around the city, adding to the speed camera program in multiple school zones.
Kevin Harris didn’t like the way the 2021 City Council primary went down and now he’s taking another shot.
Harris was edged out by just 750 votes, with Council Member Kirk McPike taking the sixth and last available Council spot. Now he faces 11 opponents in the upcoming June primary.
“This truly is a family affair for us,” Harris said. “Obviously some tears were flowing from my wife and children… It’s a commitment to be up here, and it’s a privilege to have been working on all the things I’ve been doing in the city of Alexandria.”
Harris has been president of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) Resident Association for more than a decade. He’s a lifelong city resident and lives in Old Town with his wife and four children in an ARHA property near to where a rash of shooting incidents have occurred.
ARHA and the police erected video cameras in the area and patrols have increased over the years. Harris says that when the city hires a new police chief that community policing and officers on foot patrols need to be brought back to the area.
“I’m talking about community policing in terms of having a real relationship, real connection with your residents,” Harris said. “Where people can identify the officers, they know their names, they don’t feel threatened when they see an officer coming towards them.”
Harris got his Bachelor’s Degree in business from Alabama State University, where he got a full athletic scholarship and was named captain of the basketball team. He later played professionally for the Dakota Wizards. In 2003, he founded Hoop Life Inc. and has since taught basketball camps, clinics, classes and after-school programs throughout the region. He’s also an ordained Minister at the Love of Christ Church in Del Ray, where he teaches Sunday school.
On the failed Potomac Yard arena deal, Harris said that it’s better that the Washington Wizards and Capitals are staying in D.C.
“Aside from the huge fact that the deal could have caused displacement for marginalized communities, partially sidelined labor unions, and created a complex traffic situation, it was clear from my talks with community members from various sects of the city that the vast majority of Alexandrians didn’t want it or were indifferent towards it,” Harris said. “Regardless, this situation has sparked a unique opportunity for our city to continue in dialogue on the real issue, how to boost our commercial tax base.”
Harris has gotten endorsements from NOVA Labor, former City Council Member Willie Bailey, as well as the ARHA Resident Association and other labor groups.
Harris said that outgoing Mayor Justin Wilson will be missed, and needs to be replaced with “someone who listens.”
“Before you get into the technicalities of what it takes to run a city, you got to first really care,” Harris said.
Harris would like to see a free trolley, like the King Street Trolley, drop visitors at the city’s historic spots. He also said that the city should look for creative solutions before deciding on a tax increase and needs to favor a more welcoming small business environment.
“I always say that a budget is a moral document,” he said. “That’s my key thing, and understanding that our children are really important. But running the city is not not too much different than running a household. A lot of times you know, you have to make sacrifices.”
Harris also grew up homeless, living with his single mom at the homes of family friends. Consequently, he says that he’s been a lifelong advocate for affordable housing.
“Basketball has been a tool that has taught me so much in my life,” Harris told ALXnow. “You have to learn how to deal with adverse situations and push through them by using your fundamentals you’ve learned so hard to master. Basketball allows you a better understanding of who you are, and how to leverage your strengths and weaknesses.”
Harris said that Michael Jordan was his idol growing up.
“It was his mindset,” Harris said of Jordan. “He was determined to win, to be competitive and understood what was needed to win.”
The Democratic primary is on June 18.
A 41-year-old Maryland man is being held without bond after allegedly executing the family dog in a fit of rage, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The incident occurred on Feb. 25 in an apartment in the 4300 block of Raleigh Avenue, which is near the Shoppes of Foxchase on Duke Street.
The victim told police that the father of her child took her car and her Glock 19 9mm pistol when he left for work that morning. She told police that she then became fearful and left the apartment with her child.
At around 10 p.m., the victim and the suspect were texting, with the suspect “highly agitated that she would not tell him the whereabouts of their daughter,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
A phone call followed the series of texts, and during the call the victim heard two “loud booms and the call disconnected,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police later found the dog named Max dead on the bed in the master bedroom, shot twice in the head.
The suspect then allegedly texted the victim that she should not go upstairs with their child, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was arrested on March 12 and was charged with torture of a dog, larceny of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm in an occupied building, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He goes to court on April 26.
The Alexandria Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program is available 24/7 to listen and help at 703-746-4911.
“If you are a neighbor and know that an abusive incident is occurring, call the police immediately,” the city said. “Calling the police is simply the most effective way to protect the victim and children from immediate harm.”
