Author: Mary Stachyra Lopez

Mary Stachyra Lopez is a staff reporter covering business, public safety, education, and other community issues. She covered Northern Virginia news for years at several media outlets, and spent half a decade as an editor on The Atlantic's audience team before joining Local News Now. 

Around Town

Danish juice and coffee bar opens today in Tysons Corner Center

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Outside Joe & The Juice store with a pink facade, large glass windows, and white outdoor tables beneath trees
Joe & the Juice's new location at Tysons Corner Center (Courtesy Joe & the Juice)

A new juice and coffee bar is opening today (Friday) at Tysons Corner Center.

Following today’s launch, Joe & the Juice, a Danish brand known for its juices, coffee, shakes, and sandwiches, will hold a grand opening for its first Virginia location tomorrow (Saturday), starting at 9 a.m.

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News

Former Hayfield Secondary School principal accused of embezzling school funds

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Mugshot-style head-and-shoulders photo of a man with a full beard in a red hoodie against a gray background.
Darin Thompson (courtesy of FCPD)

The former principal of Hayfield Secondary School is accused of spending nearly $8,000 in school funds for personal expenses and has been charged with felony embezzlement, Fairfax County Police said yesterday (Sept. 30).

Darin Thompson, 51, of Lorton, turned himself in to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center yesterday after police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was released on a $3,000 unsecured bond.

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News

Lake Braddock teachers push back against weapons detection duty with union grievance

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Group of protesters on a sidewalk holding colorful signs about teaching and security.
Lake Braddock staff rally outside the school during Back to School night Sept. 1. (courtesy of FCFT)

Some teachers at Lake Braddock Secondary School are pushing back against a relatively new job duty: weapons detection.

The staff members say that they are not qualified nor the appropriate personnel to screen for weapons as students pass through OpenGate security systems at the Burke school. As part of the ongoing dispute, the Fairfax Education Unions — a partnership between the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers and Fairfax Education Association, the labor unions representing non-managerial employees — has filed a formal grievance against FCPS.

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News

Garbage truck driver charged in Fairfax City crash that killed 13-year-old e-bike rider

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Police SUV from City of Fairfax with flashing blue lights blocking an intersection under a clear blue sky.
A Fairfax City police vehicle with lights on turning off Pickett Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A garbage truck driver is now facing charges related to the death of a teenage bicyclist in Fairfax City earlier in September.

The driver, a 46-year-old man from Fort Washington, Md., was charged with careless driving and infliction of injury or death on vulnerable road users, a class 1 misdemeanor.

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News

FCPD: $600K worth of jewelry stolen in Springfield armed robbery

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Surveillance image of a person in a dark hoodie and face covering at a store checkout, handling items at the counter.
The Fairfax County Police Department released these images of suspects in an armed robbery Sept. 27 in Springfield. (Courtesy of FCPD)

The Fairfax County Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects in a smash-and-grab armed robbery of a Springfield jewelry store over the weekend.

Officers responded to a report of a robbery Sunday (Sept. 27) around 3:30 p.m., at Dubai Jewelers (7010 Brookfield Plaza). Four men had arrived at the shop in a black Acura sedan, left the car, and then smashed the front glass door to get inside, police said in a release.

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News

Man sentenced in Herndon shooting death of man who kicked Tesla

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Facade of Fairfax County Courthouse: red brick building with three arched windows and large glass panes, tree branches in foreground
The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

A McLean man was sentenced last week following the May 2025 shooting of a man said to have kicked his Tesla.

Kianmehr Shirinipaziziba, 20, was sentenced Friday (Sept. 25) to 10 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter; four years and four months of that sentence were suspended.

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Around Town

Chantilly dessert spot launches live-churning gelato cart for events

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Teal ice cream being swirled upward from a machine by a worker wearing gloves, with stacked cups in the background.
Gelato is scooped from the SoftSpot dessert cart. (courtesy of SoftSpot)

A Chantilly-based dessert store is expanding its offerings with the launch of a new battery-powered gelato cart that it hopes to operate at weddings, corporate gatherings, and other events.

SoftSpot, which opened at 13905A Metrotech Drive in early 2025, will churn its fresh Italian-style gelato in front of guests in the self-contained cart — without the need for outlets or cords.

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News

Town of Herndon ‘stunned and disappointed’ by court’s ruling in favor of Comstock

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Front view of Fairfax County Courthouse: a brick building with three tall arched windows and a glass-centered entrance.
The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge last week issued a summary judgment against the Town of Herndon in its ongoing legal battle against Comstock after the developer backed out of a long-stalled downtown redevelopment project in 2024.

The town’s lawsuit, filed last year, had demanded that Comstock return the title of a nearly 5-acre site in the northeast quadrant of the Elden and Center Street intersection, that had been transferred to the developer with plans for a mixed-use block with apartments, an arts center, retail space and a parking garage.

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News

Man sentenced to prison after exploiting 41 girls on Snapchat: prosecutors

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (file photo)

A man who prosecutors say terrorized dozens of young girls to obtain sexually explicit material — and was previously convicted in Fairfax County of the sexual assault of two minors—was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison on federal charges.

Malachi Morgan Thomas, 24, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty in April to one count of production of child sexual assault material and one count of possession. He was sentenced on Friday (Sept. 25) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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News

Trial date set for man accused of fatally stabbing woman in Annandale

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Brick campus building with tall windows and white accents, shaded by dense green tree branches over a sidewalk.
The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

A Maryland man has been indicted for second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a woman in Annandale earlier this year.

Musa Kargbo, 43, is now scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 11 in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The Prince George’s County resident is accused of killing Isha Koroma, 26, of Alexandria, outside of the Annandale home where she worked taking care of a child, on Nov. 7, 2025.

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