A Maryland man was arrested earlier this month for allegedly trying to carjack a vehicle that he claimed to be interested in buying, Fairfax County police say.
Officers were dispatched to the 14600 block of Seasons Drive in Centreville’s Bryarton neighborhood for the reported carjacking at 10:09 p.m. on June 5. According to the Fairfax County Police Department, a Rodney Hart Jr., 25, contacted two other men to express interest in buying a vehicle they’d listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
“While the suspect was inspecting the vehicle’s interior, he told the victims to exit. The victims refused to exit the vehicle and a struggle ensued,” the FCPD said in a press release published today (Thursday). “…One victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene.”
The suspect fled the scene on foot before officers arrived, according to the FCPD.
Police say they identified Hart as the suspect based on evidence found at the scene and “a thorough investigation.” He was arrested on June 6 in Centreville, near the 14600 block of Seasons Drive.
Hart has been charged with attempted carjacking and attempted abduction through force or intimidation, per Fairfax County General District Court records. He’s currently in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 9.
Court records indicate that the hearing will also include a carjacking charge for a June 5, 2022 incident, for which Hart appears to have been arrested on May 29. He was released on recognizance after a bond hearing on May 31.
He previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on Nov. 22, 2021 for a March 2020 offense. The charge in that case was amended from grand larceny for auto theft, a felony, court records show.
According to the FCPD, Hart was arrested in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in that case on April 20, 2020. An individual had reported that their vehicle was stolen in the 2700 block of Gallows Road near the Dunn Loring Metro station in Merrifield at 4:48 p.m. on March 29.
“Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau were assigned to the case and through their investigation identified Rodney Hart, of Maryland as the suspect,” the FCPD said.
According to the court database, he was sentenced to a year of jail time, 245 days of which were suspended. The sentence also included 12 months of unsupervised probation, a 60-day suspension of his driver’s license and a $300 fine.
The Office of the Public Defender, which is listed as Hart’s defense attorney, told FFXnow it “can’t make a comment at this time.”
