FCPD: Lorton man threatened dog and its walker, led police on DUI chase

A Lorton man was arrested earlier this week for shaking a dog, threatening its owner with a knife and driving wildly down Richmond Highway with police in pursuit.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Franconia District officers were called to the 9600 block of Eaton Woods Place in Lorton at 4:03 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 24) by a man who said he’d been threatened while walking his dog.

“The victim stated he was walking his dog when he was approached by the suspect,” the FCPD said in a news release published yesterday (Thursday). “The suspect then, without provocation, picked up and shook his dog. The suspect initially fled the area but later returned with a knife and threatened to stab the victim.”

Police say investigating officers were then “flagged down” by community members who reported that “someone was ramming vehicles and driving recklessly on the roadway.”

An officer encountered the suspect — identified as Daniel John Sol, 30, of Lorton — in a 2017 Black Toyota Yaris at the intersection of Richmond Highway (Route 1) and Telegraph Road, according to the police scanner traffic on Open MHz.

The officer told a dispatcher that the Toyota was “doing donuts” in the middle of the intersection and “facing the wrong way in traffic,” hitting multiple vehicles in the process.

“He flipped me off and is taking off,” the officer said, noting that the driver was “doing the speed limit” and suggesting that the people at the intersection get checked for possible injuries..

Per the scanner, the chase proceeded north on Route 1 for several miles with the Toyota driver “swerving in front of traffic, trying to cause an accident,” an officer said. Sol then turned onto Old Mount Vernon Road and crashed into a tree at the Ferry Landing Road intersection.

The chase covered 12.5 miles, and no injuries were reported, though several vehicles “sustained minor damage” before police arrived, according to the FCPD.

Currently held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, Sol has been charged with “Cruelty to Animals, Attempted Malicious Wounding, three counts of Assault on Law Enforcement/Fire/Medical Services, four counts of Felony Hit and Run, two counts of Reckless Driving, Felony Eluding, and Driving Under the Influence,” police said.