police | ALXnow - Part 106

Majority of City Council Questions Month-Long Police Teleworking Initiative Amid Pandemic

Published May 19, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated May 21, 2020 at 2:31PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated on May 21 at 2:30 p.m.) A majority of the Alexandria City Council wants to know more about a month-long police teleworking initiative during the pandemic, and one member wants to see a full internal report.

Between April 6 and May 2, the Alexandria Police Department reduced its enlarged patrol presence (with added school resource officers, K-9 officers, traffic safety section officers and community relations officers), and on any given day had one-third of assigned patrol officers (18-24 officers) teleworking at home.

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Just In: Alexandria Man Arrested for Allegedly Producing and Distributing Child Porn

By James Cullum

Published May 19, 2020 at 1:25PM

Police car lights (file photo)

A 53-year-old Alexandria man was arrested today on charges of producing and distributing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Abel Ambrocio was arrested for allegedly instructing an adult woman on Facebook to send him more than 100 pictures of the woman sexually exploiting a three-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. He then allegedly sent the photos to another person, and the activities occurred over the course of several months, according to court documents.

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Alexandria Police Looking For Missing Man in West End

By James Cullum

Published May 18, 2020 at 9:00PM | Updated May 19, 2020 at 11:34AM

(Updated at 11:30 p.m.) The missing man has been found, Alexandria police say.

The Alexandria Police Department are looking for a missing 67-year-old man who was last seen in the area of Sanger Avenue and Essex Court in the city’s West End.

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Feed the Fight Alexandria Director Gets $40 Parking Ticket Picking Up 300 Cupcakes for Inova Hospital Workers

By James Cullum

Published May 15, 2020 at 5:15PM | Updated May 16, 2020 at 12:04PM

(Updated on May 16 at 12:00 p.m.) The director of Feed the Fight Alexandria was picking up 300 cupcakes from Alexandria Cupcake to donate to three Inova hospitals on May 6, when she found an unexpected surprise waiting on her windshield — a $40 parking ticket.

The ticket was later paid for by an Alexandria Police officer.

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City Manager: Police Officers Teleworked in Case of ‘Much Worse’ COVID-19 Situation

By James Cullum

Published May 13, 2020 at 2:15PM | Updated May 15, 2020 at 11:53AM

(Updated on May 15 at 10:45 a.m.) — Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks and Police Chief Michael Brown have declined to comment on this developing story, according to city spokesman Craig Fifer.

City Manager Mark Jinks on Tuesday said that Alexandria Police ended their “significant” monthlong teleworking initiative and that police were isolated and made available to respond to a “much worse situation” should the peak of cases not flatten.

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Man Arrested for April Crime Spree in Alexandria While Police Presence Reduced by Teleworking

By James Cullum

Published May 12, 2020 at 11:30AM | Updated May 12, 2020 at 5:21PM

Police car lights (file photo)

A 34-year-old Fairfax County man has been arrested and charged with statutory burglary after an April crime spree in Alexandria.

Alton Thodos, 34, who lives in the Alexandria part of Fairfax County, was arrested on April 27, for committing four burglaries from gas stations in Del Ray and Old Town at night. He is accused of stealing more than $45,000 worth of items.

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Police Investigate Assault at Arlandria Convenience Store

By James Cullum

Published May 7, 2020 at 10:15AM | Updated May 8, 2020 at 12:45AM

Alexandria Police are investigating an assault that occurred at the 24 Hour Express Food Store in Arlandria on Wednesday night.

Police received the call at around 9:15 p.m. and found a man with non-life threatening injuries. The victim was transported to The George Washington University Hospital and was conscious when he spoke to police, according to scene commander Sergeant Mark Blackwell.

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BREAKING: Pedestrian Struck and Killed by VRE Train Behind Potomac Yard Movie Theater

By James Cullum

Published May 5, 2020 at 8:15PM

A VRE train heading south through Potomac Yard (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A pedestrian was killed this evening by a Virginia Railway Express train behind the Regal Cinemas at Potomac Yard, according to Alexandria Police.

The person died at the scene, and the incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m., according to Alexandria Police spokesman Lieutenant Courtney Ballantine.

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Police Investigating Shooting of 17-Year-Old as Targeted Attack

By James Cullum

Published May 4, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated June 8, 2020 at 3:07PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Police are considering the March 31 shooting of a 17-year-old to be a targeted attack.

On Tuesday, March 31, the victim was playing basketball with a number of other minors when he was shot in the back by an unknown suspect in the 300 block of Tancil Court in Old Town, according to a police search warrant affidavit.

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Alexandria Police Increasing Patrol Operations

By James Cullum

Published May 1, 2020 at 3:15PM | Updated May 1, 2020 at 6:31PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Police are adjusting patrol operations after more than a month of modified services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That means that residents will see more officers on the street, including officers on motorcycles — in addition to an already established police presence at food distribution points, potential gathering points and at COVID-19 testing sites throughout the city, according to police spokesman Lieutenant Courtney Ballantine.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published April 30, 2020 at 9:00AM

T.C. Senior Wins $40K Scholarship — “What does it feel like to get a SURPRISE ZOOM CALL from U.S. Senator Mark Warner, Lisa Collis, and daughters Gillian, Eliza & Madison…telling you that you are the first recipient of the Collis Warner Family Scholarship worth $40,000? Just ask T.C. Williams High School Senior Foziya Mohammed! Mohammed received the call this afternoon…’I am shocked and excited! I was nervous I thought this was a call about some kind of problem with my scholarship application. I’m not nervous anymore! Thank you so much. I would tell all of the younger students at T.C. that hard work pays off!'” [Facebook]

Police Respond to Domestic Violence Service Call — “The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a weapon violation in the 1400 block of South Highview Lane. A helicopter is assisting and expect police activity in the area.” [Twitter]