theft | ALXnow

APD: Clerk pepper-sprayed during cigarette theft at Richmond Highway gas station

Published September 17, 2026 at 11:45AM | Updated September 17, 2026 at 12:01PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of multiple cartons of cigarettes after a clerk was pepper sprayed at a gas station near Potomac Yard.

The employee reported that around 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, the suspect walked into the convenience store of the Exxon gas station at 2320 Richmond Highway and asked what time they started serving food. The clerk responded, and the suspect then allegedly pepper-sprayed the clerk, walked behind the counter and stole multiple cartons of Newport cigarettes, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Man arrested 6 years after allegedly stealing girlfriend’s rental car in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published September 14, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A Manassas man faces felony theft charges after allegedly taking his then-girlfriend’s rental car from a hotel in Alexandria more than six years ago.

The victim is a Canadian citizen and reported the incident to the Alexandria Police Department on July 7, 2020. The victim told police that she flew in the day before from Canada to see her boyfriend, who she’d met in January, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.

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Man allegedly drives off in stolen car with over $10K in tools from Arlandria dealership

By James Cullum

Published September 4, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

An Alexandria man faces felony theft charges after allegedly stealing a vehicle and more than $10,000 in tools from a car dealership in the city’s Arlandria neighborhood.

The Alexandria Police Department was notified of the incident around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The suspect allegedly broke into an office window at Alexandria Volkswagen at 107 W. Glebe Road and then drove a 2023 Volkswagen Golf “through the service bay garage door and through the lot fence onto W. Reed Avenue,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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D.C. man faces felony charge after alleged $1K Old Town yoga store theft

By James Cullum

Published August 24, 2026 at 3:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A D.C. man has been charged with felony grand larceny after allegedly stealing more than $1,000 of clothing from a popular yoga shop in Old Town last month.

The suspect was arrested on Friday, July 17, after being captured on surveillance footage allegedly stuffing Alo Yoga (814 King Street) merchandise into a white Nordstrom bag and fleeing the store without paying, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.

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Tracking device on $1,500 bike leads to arrest of alleged thief in West End

By James Cullum

Published July 21, 2026 at 3:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

An Alexandria man faces a felony theft charge after allegedly being found with a stolen bicycle that had a tracking device on it.

The victim reported to the Alexandria Police Department that a chain was cut and his Cannondale Quick CX bicycle was stolen on April 25 in the 4400 block of Taney Avenue in the city’s West End, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The victim also told police that he had a tracking device on the bike, which is worth about $1,500, and that it was still located somewhere within the same block.

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Convicted porch pirate jailed again for alleged shoplifting in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published July 21, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A Manassas man who was found guilty last month of mail theft, petit larceny and entering a property to damage is back in the Alexandria jail after being charged with shoplifting and two counts of petit larceny.

On June 12, the Alexandria Police Department received multiple calls from Old Town residents that packages were stolen from their front porches by a man driving a white Jeep with Virginia tags. The thefts included a package with less than $50 worth of items stolen from a front porch in the 700 block of S. Royal Street, two lamps and chairs valued at more than $600 from a porch in the 700 block of S. Fairfax Street, six packages valued at $200 taken from a front porch in the 500 block of S. Washington Street, and two lamps valued at $100 taken from a porch in the 500 block of Duke Street, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Alexandria man faces nearly 200 charges after car break-ins at N. Va. gyms

By James Cullum

Published July 20, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 29-year-old Alexandria man faces hundreds of charges tied to alleged thefts from unlocked vehicles parked outside of fitness centers in Fairfax County and Falls Church.

Kumneger Ayalsew was arrested in Alexandria on June 26 and is currently being held at the Arlington County jail. He faces hundreds of charges for similar alleged crimes in Fairfax County and Falls Church, according to a release from the Fairfax County Police Department.

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More details released on $35K jewelry smash-and-grab in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published July 6, 2026 at 3:45PM

An Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 23-year-old Alexandria man heads to court this month after allegedly stealing a necklace and bracelet valued at $34,750 from an Old Town jewelry store and breaking into nearby Christ Church to hide.

Around 10 a.m. on June 4, an off-duty Alexandria sheriff’s deputy was working security at the shop in the 600 block of King Street when she heard banging sounds outside and saw a man in a black hooded sweatshirt steal the bracelet and necklace and flee on foot. The off-duty deputy then chased the suspect into an alley in the 100 block of N. Washington Street, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Former UPS employee held without bond after 150+ packages stolen from Alexandria facility

By James Cullum

Published July 2, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A 28-year-old D.C. man is being held without bond after allegedly stealing more than 150 packages from a UPS shipping facility in Alexandria.

The suspect worked at a UPS facility in Hyattsville, Md., for three months in 2022 and 2023, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. From April 4 to as recently as June 15, the suspect was captured on security cameras arriving at the UPS facility at 5601 Eisenhower Avenue in rental cars with Virginia tags and entering the building through a bay door.

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Alexandria man claims ‘wrong house’ after alleged break-in at co-worker’s relatives’ home

By James Cullum

Published May 21, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria Police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

An Alexandria man faces illegal entry and public intoxication charges after allegedly breaking into the Seminary Hill home of a co-worker’s relatives, rummaging around and stealing clothing, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

On April 9, the homeowners provided police with video surveillance showing the suspect entering the home in the 200 block of N. Quaker Lane, as well as audio of him allegedly opening kitchen cabinets, according to the affidavit. The suspect was arrested less than a mile away on a public intoxication charge, a Class 4 misdemeanor with a $250 fine. He was later charged with entering a property to damage, a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

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No bond for D.C. man arrested for food truck break-in on Eisenhower Avenue

By James Cullum

Published April 3, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A 28-year-old D.C. man is being held without bond after allegedly breaking into a food truck parked at a storage facility on Eisenhower Avenue last month, according to a recently-released Alexandria Police search warrant affidavit.

The suspect has been held without bond since his arrest in the early morning hours of Monday, March 2. Just before midnight, the Alexandria Police Department responded to a storage facility in the 4900 block of Eisenhower Avenue for a larceny from a vehicle call. The victim told police he could see someone in a construction vest inside his food truck on a surveillance camera, according to the search warrant affidavit.