A 29-year-old Maryland man faces multiple charges after allegedly fleeing police in a stolen car in Alexandria’s West End.
The incident occurred at around 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, August 30. Police found that a white Kia Forte with Virginia tags driving in the area of Duke Street and S. Reynolds Street was stolen, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Police said that the theft of the Kia was “consistent” with other thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles from a TikTok challenge, where suspects break into vehicles and use a USB cord to start them.
“The Kia Forte vehicle was found to have a busted rear driver side window and damaged and missing steering column cover where the ignition is normally located,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “These damages appear to be consistent with those observed on the current TikTok car theft challenge.”
At a meeting with the City Council yesterday, Police Chief Don Hayes said that as of Aug. 31 there were 118 Hyundais and Kias stolen in the last year, which he attributed to a combination of software flaws and the TikTok challenge.
The suspect in the Kia then allegedly led police on a nearly two-mile chase before crashing into a fire hydrant near the intersection of Duke Street and Cockrell Avenue.
“The vehicle travelled east along Duke Street and attempted to lose the officer but crashed at a fire hydrant at the intersection of Duke Street and Cockrell Avenue,” according to the search warrant affidavit. “The Alexandria police officer commanded the subject to stop but he refused and continued running.”
A female passenger in the vehicle later told police that the suspect is an acquaintance and wasn’t aware that the vehicle was stolen, according to the search warrant affidavit. The woman was not charged.
The suspect was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, fleeing from law enforcement, falsely identifying himself to law enforcement, driving without a valid license, hit-and-run (property damage) and reckless driving.
The suspect was released on Sept. 7 on a $6,000 unsecured bond and goes to court on October 11.
Alexandria police are investigating a residential burglary in the 5400 block of Taney Avenue that led to a car being stolen and a dangerous police chase.
No arrest has been made since the incident occurred on July 24. The victim told police that her window screen and a kitchen window were broken and her purse and Land Rover were stolen, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The woman reportedly said she bought the vehicle a few days before and last saw it that morning before going to sleep at 3 a.m.
At around 9 a.m., the “InControl” service inside the Land Rover tracked it to Capitol Heights, Maryland and then at 12:45 p.m. it was tracked less than two miles from where it was stolen — to the area of S. Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police found that the Land Rover had a temporary Virginia license plate registered to a black Ford and tried to pull it over, but the driver allegedly eluded police.
“The (police) units tried to conduct a traffic stop on the Land Rover, but the unknown driver of the Land Rover dangerously eluded the officers that attempted to stop the vehicle,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The vehicle fled to Interstate 95.495 North, commonly known as the Capital Beltway.”
Police later tracked and recovered the abandoned Land Rover in Clinton, Maryland.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
After being stolen from a West End home and chased by police in a “dangerous” pursuit last month, a 2023 Land Rover has been recovered.
No arrest or injuries were reported in connection to the incident, which occurred on the morning of Monday, July 24. At around 7:30 a.m., the victim reported to the Alexandria Police Department that her kitchen window was open and the window screen was broken. Her purse and keys were gone and so was her recently purchased 2023 Land Rover, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Police contacted Land Rover’s “InControl” tracking service and found that the vehicle was parked outside an old video shop in Capitol Heights, Maryland. APD then reached out to the Prince George’s County Police Department, but the Land Rover was gone by the time they arrived, according to the search warrant affidavit.
At around 12:45 p.m., a Land Rover representative informed APD that the stolen vehicle was located near Eisenhower Avenue and S. Van Dorn Street in the city’s West End. It was observed by police and Alexandria Sheriff’s deputies being driven by a suspect in the 400 block of S. Van Dorn Street and bearing a temporary tag registered to a black Ford, according to the search warrant affidavit.
“The units attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the Land Rover, but the unknown driver of the Land Rover dangerously eluded the officers that attempted to stop the vehicle,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “The vehicle fled to Interstate 95/495 North.”
The vehicle was tracked and recovered via InControl to Clinton, Maryland.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
An Arlington man faces multiple charges after allegedly selling a stolen car to a man on Facebook Marketplace.
The 21-year-old suspect was arrested May 17 at Alexandria Police Department Headquarters (3600 Wheeler Avenue), where he agreed to meet the victim to discuss the sale of a stolen 2006 Honda Civic for $2,800, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim met with the suspect at police headquarters to get his money back, according to the search warrant affidavit. The victim told police that he bought the Honda on April 22 from the suspect, but found out a week later at the DMV that the vehicle was stolen.
The suspect allegedly told police that he merely arranged the sale with the car’s registered owner, and police later determined that he gave the victim forged documents to make it look like the sale was legitimate.
Police found that the suspect allegedly bought the stolen Honda in March from a man he met on Facebook Marketplace, and bought it from the seller in-person in the Lincolnia area of Fairfax County.
The suspect allegedly tried to register the car with the DMV, found out it was stolen and then unsuccessfully attempted to meet with the original seller, police determined by looking at the suspect’s phone, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was charged with filing a false release report, obtaining money by false pretenses and receiving stolen goods. He posted a $5,000 bond on the day he was arrested and goes to court on Aug. 7.
Alexandria Police are investigating an armed carjacking that occurred early this morning in the West End.
The male victim was robbed at gunpoint of his black 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG at around 4:30 a.m. outside the 24-hour gym X-Sport Fitness at 4300 King Street. The area is near the intersection with Park Center Drive.
No injuries were reported and no arrests were made.
The victim told police that he was carjacked by three men in a silver two-door Infiniti. After the incident, the victim tracked the vehicle with GPS to the Navy Yard area in D.C. and then to Prince George’s County in Maryland, according to APD scanner traffic.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Image via Google Maps
Notification:: In response to an armed carjacking, there is a moderate police presence in the 4300 block of King Street. No injuries were reported. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/CUFam3zZBL
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) July 6, 2023
A 27-year-old man, Leon Solomon Jackson, is being held without bond after allegedly abducting a woman, threatening her with a knife, stealing her credit card and car earlier this month.
The victim reported the incident to police on June 8 that the incident occurred the previous day with a man she’d recently met at a convenience store in the 300 block of N. Ripley Street, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim was allegedly assaulted at her apartment in the 900 block of N. Van Dorn Street, which is near Holmes Run.
Jackson allegedly told the victim that it was his birthday and she agreed to buy him White Claw alcoholic seltzer. They then got into her car, and he allegedly showed her a knife and asked her to buy him a pair of $99 Air Jordans from a shoe store in the 6100 block of Little River Turnpike, according to the search warrant affidavit. The victim provided police a receipt for the shoes and said that the suspect stayed outside during the transaction.
The victim told police that the suspect allegedly put two pills in her White Claw and that she drank it under pressure. She also told police that he held a knife to her throat, choked her, threatened her and then took her money and car. She also alleges that the suspect forcefully removed her clothing.
Jackson was arrested at his home a half-mile away allegedly driving the stolen vehicle at around 8:45 p.m. near his home in the 300 block of N. Ripley Street, which is close to where the victim met him.
Jackson was charged with credit card theft, robbery with a weapon, brandishing a bladed weapon, auto theft and abduction by force/intimidation.
The suspect goes to court for a preliminary hearing on July 19.
Image via Google Maps
Four male juveniles were arrested after a brief chase from a stolen car in the West End on Tuesday afternoon, prompting four schools to go on lockdown, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The incident occurred at around noon near the 1400 block of N. Beauregard Street. Police recovered a handgun from one of the suspects, according to dispatch reports.
“While conducting the traffic stop, all individuals from the vehicle fled,” APD said in a release. “Additional Officers were dispatched to the area to locate the suspects. During the search, APD Officers found four juvenile male suspects and took them into custody. APD recovered one weapon.”
The charges against the minors include drug possession with intent to sale, a concealed weapons charge, illegal weapons possession, and other weapon offenses, according to APD.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
The incident prompted four nearby schools to go into “secure the building” mode. Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School (1701 N. Beauregard Street), William Ramsay Elementary School (5700 Sanger Avenue), John Adams Elementary School (5651 Rayburn Avenue) and the Early Childhood Center (5651 Rayburn Avenue) went into “secure the building” from 12:15 to 12:35 p.m.
On Monday afternoon, three juveniles were arrested after an estimated 40 shots were fired. The shots were fired in an alleyway in the 1200 block of Madison Street, a block away from the Braddock Road Metro station, and no one was injured. Also that day, shots were fired at a Bradlee Shopping Center bus stop, which is near Alexandria City High School.
News Release:: The Alexandria Police Department Makes Arrest in Stolen Auto Case
On Tuesday, April 18, APD Officers attempted to make a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle from Fairfax County near the 1400 block of N. Beauregard Street.
Read more : https://t.co/OjySFEPAsi
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 20, 2023
Image via Google Maps
An Alexandria man is being held without bond for an alleged carjacking in the West End on Saturday night (Feb. 18).
At around 8 p.m, the 32-year-old male victim was allegedly held at gunpoint and carjacked in the 300 block of N. Ripley Street in the West End. Police were dispatched to a fight outside of an apartment complex, and were advised that the suspect had a firearm.
Anthony Jermainte Harris, 36, was arrested at the scene and charged with was charged with robbery, weapon possession by a felon, illegal discharge of a weapon, carjacking and attempted abduction.
No one was injured in the incident, and a firearm was allegedly found on Harris when he was arrested.
Harris goes to court on April 14.
Map via Google Maps
The owner of car stolen from the 200 block of N. Ripley Street says that his keys were stolen from his unlocked apartment in the early morning of Jan. 2, 2023 (via Google Maps)
A 25-year-old Alexandria man faces multiple charges after being found with a stolen car and allegedly running away from police earlier this month.
The car owner told police that someone must have entered his unlocked apartment and gotten the keys to his 2015 white Honda CRV between midnight on Jan. 1 and 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 2, according to a search warrant affidavit. The Honda owner then checked a GPS tracker, which showed it parked a mile-and-a-half away in the 5600 block of Derby Court in the Mark Center area.
Police went to the address and found the male suspect getting a black jacket out of the backseat of the stolen Honda. The suspect “took off running” when he saw police, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police could not confirm whether the suspect arrested was the same as the person who stole the car.
“(The officer) was unable to find any information on who stole the vehicle at this time and (the suspect) was not currently driving the vehicle when it was located,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was arrested and charged with driving on a suspended/revoked license, public intoxication, entering a stolen vehicle, preventing law enforcement from making an arrest and possession of Schedule I/II drugs. He was released from jail on Jan. 6 on a $2,500 unsecured bond and goes to court on Feb. 23.
Map via Google Maps
Two Manassas men arrested in November for allegedly stealing air bags in Arlington are also suspected of committing 11 similar acts in Alexandria, according to police.
The 43-year-old and 25-year-old suspects were arrested on Nov. 13 in Arlington and charged in connection with three airbag thefts committed that day. The suspects are also accused of 11 similar incidents in Alexandria between Aug. 25 and Oct. 31, 2022, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The 11 incidents occurred in parking garages in the 4500 block of Strutfield Lane, in a West End residential area full of apartment complexes. Police obtained numerous videos of the two suspects smashing vehicle windows and removing airbags. The suspects allegedly drove a black Honda Civic with Virginia tags and a distinctive chrome dual exhaust — a detail that led to their eventual arrest.
In early November, a license plate reader hit on a black Honda Civic with the same tags in connection to a possible airbag theft in D.C., police said in the search warrant affidavit. The responding officer also noted the dual exhaust system of the vehicle.
The suspects were arrested on Nov. 13 after allegedly smashing the windows of three vehicles and stealing airbags in the 2100 block of Columbia Pike in Arlington. The 43-year-old suspect posted bond and the 25-year-old is being held without bond.
According to the Arlington County Police Department:
Upon a search of Suspect One incident to arrest, a glass breaking tool was located. Upon a search of the suspect vehicle, burglarious tools, a radar detector and air bags were recovered. [A suspect], 25, of Manassas, Va. was arrested and charged with Destruction of Property (x3), Tampering with Auto (x3), Grand Larceny (x2), Possession of Burglarious Tools, Possession of Stolen Items with the Intent to Sell, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (x2), Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Possession of Radar Detector. [A suspect], 43, of Manassas, Va, was arrested and charged with Destruction of Property (x3), Tampering with Auto (x3), Grand Larceny (x2), Possession of Burglarious Tools, Possession of Stolen Items with the Intent to Sell and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (x2).
Both suspects go to court for the offenses on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
