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.
You might want to get your prescriptions transferred, because CVS store and pharmacy at 3120 Duke Street in the city’s Taylor Run neighborhood is closing.
A note posted by management states that the store will be closing on Thursday, May 23. The CVS is across the street from the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center.
There are two other CVS stores on Duke Street — at 1680 Duke Street in Old Town and at 5101 Duke Street in the West End.
It’s not as exciting as the Washington Wizards and Capitals, but Amazon Fresh in the Potomac Yard Shopping Center is still moving forward.
The Washington Business Journal first reported that Amazon is gearing up to open at 3801 Richmond Highway.
A peek through a window at the former Shoppers Food Warehouse reveals a large grocery store with empty shelves and counters. A Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control license application is also posted on the front door showing that the retail giant applied in February to sell gourmet wine and beer.
The Washington Business Journal also found recent permit applications for the installation of refrigeration cases.
Property owner JBG Smith lists the property as a “Future Grocer.” As a policy, Amazon does not comment on its “future store roadmap.”
Amazon Fresh closed earlier this month in Crystal City, ARLnow reported. The store was open for less than two years. The company also abandoned plans to open locations in Columbia Pike and Bailey’s Crossroads after a fourth quarter earnings call in February put a halt to expansion plans.
The Shoppers in Potomac Yard closed at the end of 2019 and Amazon Fresh was announced to go into the space in 2021. It’s located in the northern section of Potomac Yard near the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus and less than two miles from Amazon’s HQ2 development in Crystal City.
A 30-year-old man is being held without bond for allegedly stealing juice drinks and assaulting an employee from a West End 7-Eleven.
On Feb. 7, the employee at the store at 6120 Lincolnia Road called 911 to report the incident, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The victim told police that the suspect walked into the store, took three-to-four juice bottles and then walked out without paying and sat across the street at a bus stop.
“The victim followed the unknown suspect outside the store to the bus stop across from the 7-Eleven,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The victim demanded the suspect return the merchandise. The suspect put the bottles down on a nearby parked vehicle. As the victim leaned forward to grab the bottles the suspect punched him several times in the face. The suspect then took the bottles and fled the scene.”
The victim sustained a broken nose, a hematoma on his forehead and lacerations near his left eye and nose, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Churchill Oluwole Hamid was arrested on Feb. 15 for the incident and is being held without bond. He was charged with malicious wounding and petit larceny and goes to court on April 3.
Updated 2/27: Justin Marino, owner of Mason and Greens, reached out to ALXnow. Marino said:
We would like to thank the community, the City and all who have supported our small business over the years. We had a good run, and hope we introduced you to new items that are good for you and the planet, and different ways to live a cleaner and better life. We will miss our customers the most, the Mason & Greens family wishes you the best, and much success in your journey to a more sustainable future!
Zero waste boutique Mason and Greens (913 King Street) seemingly closed in Old Town earlier this month.
The store closed earlier this month with no public notice. Calls to the store went unanswered and the doors were locked at the store, with all the interior shelves emptied.
The shop opened in Old Town in 2020 with a focus on sustainable, zero-waste products, offering an eco-friendly alternative to other grocery stores.
The other Mason and Greens location in D.C. closed last October.
A picture of the sign in front of the store just before the closing was sent to ALXnow with notes attached to the board:
We’re abruptly closing and displacing all our employees just like the DC Store! Going out of business. Goodbye. Come and get what’s left! And let the employees know about current job openings! Thanks!
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the robbery of the 7-Eleven at 800 Franklin Street in Old Town. It’s the second time that the store has been robbed in just over a month.
No one was injured in the incident, which occurred at around 1:30 a.m., according to the police scanner.
A Black male wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt walked into the store, implied he had a weapon, walked behind the counter and took cash from the register, according to the police scanner. The suspect never touched the employees in the store and fled the scene on foot. Police also found a discarded blue hooded sweatshirt near the store, according to the police scanner.
Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification: APD is on scene at the 7-Eleven in the 800 block of Franklin Street investigating a robbery. There are no injuries. The suspect stole merchandise and fled. Anyone with information is asked to call 703-746-4444. pic.twitter.com/aFqWISPbUT
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) December 22, 2023
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of an ATM stolen from the 7-Eleven at 6120 Lincolnia Road in the West End early yesterday morning.
APD was notified of a hold-up alarm in the store at around 2:30 a.m. A store employee called police and said that four male suspects entered the store, that employees were told to keep their heads down, and that the suspect fled in a vehicle, according to the police scanner.
No injuries were reported, according to APD.
There have been a number of ATM thefts in and around Alexandria this year. In November, the Fairfax County Police Department announced it was investigating a series of ATM thefts that occurred near Alexandria. In May, a truck crashed into the CVS in Del Ray and suspects unsuccessfully tried to steal the ATM, followed by a theft from a Del Ray 7-Eleven in June.
Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Officers are investigating a commercial robbery at 6120 Lincolnia Rd. There is a moderate police presence. No injuries have been reported.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) December 11, 2023
(Updated 10/13) Chris Harvey is retiring and hopes to sell his hardware store in Del Ray as-is before the end of the year. If that doesn’t happen, he plans on selling all his merchandise at deeply discounted rates.
Chris and his brother Gary Harvey opened Executive Lock & Key Service at 2003 Mount Vernon Avenue in the mid 1990s. Chris runs the business now and Gary says he’s been trying to get his brother to retire for years.
“Hopefully I can sell it and pass the torch, because everyone in town doesn’t want us to leave,” Chris said. “Put your money together. I don’t want that much. You get half a dozen guys together and you have your workforce right there. And you all say ‘Hey, we’re the owners of a hardware store,’ and you can drink your latte and go up and down the street.”
The Harveys are T.C. Williams High School graduates and got into the hardware store business in 1986 by opening locations in Crystal City. One of their True Value stores was only 800 square feet, and Gary says it was the smallest store in the country.
“They had a 550-square-foot location in Chicago that burned down, so we took the title after that happened,” Gary said. “We had a unique clientele and we didn’t sell lawnmowers or chainsaws. We made it cutting keys and selling picture hooks and little hammers and stuff.”
Chris said that he’ll keep his rolodex of 400 customers for his key-making business, which will continue on more of a freelance basis, he said.
“I’m going to miss it, especially all the customers,” Chris said. “It’s all I’ve known, getting up early and going to work, and I like to BS with folks. I’m a BS-er. My dad was military, so if we wanted things in life we had to work. From the time I was a snotty nosed kid, I was out on a paper route, cutting grass, raking leaves.”
The small neighborhood hardware store is full of merchandise, which Chris says he will discount and sell off unless he can find a new owner to take it as-is.
“But if you’re going to buy it, you’re gonna have to commit,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of people who backed out the last minute and I told them they they wouldn’t fit in because they knew nothing about hardware. You got to be married to the business and be ready to not get home for dinner all the time. You’ve got to begin here in the trenches and be passionate about helping people.”
H/t to John Antonelli
The Chamber ALX has released the finalists for the Best in Business Awards, and the top businesses will be announced at a gala in Old Town next month.
It’s no secret that Don Simpson, Jr. is the chamber’s 2023 business leader of the year, since that cat was let out of the bag last month. Just who will receive the other highly coveted awards, however, is still secret. This year’s nominees are listed below, and winners are determined by a panel of previous awardees.
The Best in Business Awards, presented by Burke & Herbert Bank, will be held at the Westin Old Town Alexandria (400 Courthouse Square) from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Octo. 12. The event costs $125 for members and $150 for non-members.
Land use attorney Cathy Puskar was named business leader of the year last year. Read more about last year’s event here.
Alexandria’s 2023 Best In Business finalists
Small Business of the Year
- 9Round Fitness
- Cualtzin Salon
- Jillian Keck Hogan Group
- Salon deZEN
- Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine
- The Wise Family
- Wine Gallery 108
Medium Business of the Year
Large Business of the Year
- George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- United States Senate Federal Credit Union
- Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
Rising Star Business of the Year
- Ada’s on the River
- BeeLiner Diner
- Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe and Wine Bar
- Silk Rose Spa
- VIP Alexandria Magazine
Nonprofit & Association of the Year
T.J. Maxx is planning on moving to a sectioned-off portion of the former Shoppers Food Warehouse in Potomac Yard next month.
T.J. Maxx staff told ALXnow that the store will move from its current location at 3451 Richmond Highway and reopen at 3875 Richmond Highway on Thursday, Oct. 19.
The former Shoppers closed in 2020 and until recently was expected to be transformed into an Amazon Fresh.
Now with those plans scrapped, T.J. Maxx will take up more than half of the 50,000 square foot former grocery store, which was divided into two properties (3875 and 3801 Richmond Highway).
“The sign is up and we’re moving,” a T.J. Maxx employee said. “We’re reopening on Oct. 19. It’s very exciting, after being here all these years.”
Potomac Yard is managed by JBG Smith Properties and JPMorgan Chase & Co., which are both overseeing a massive mixed-use development of the area.
