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. 

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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Around Town

German Doner Kebab to open first Va. outpost in Idylwood this week

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Storefront of a German Doner Kebab restaurant with a large red GDK sign above the entrance and glass doors showing posters in the windows.
German Doner Kebab is opening soon at 7121 Leesburg Pike, Unit B, in Idylwood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A doner kebab chain with more than 170 locations across the globe is opening its first Virginia restaurant in Fairfax County this weekend.

German Doner Kebab (GDK) will host its grand opening celebration at 11 a.m. Oct. 3 in Idylwood just outside Falls Church City (7121b Leesburg Pike Ste R2), the restaurant recently announced via a social media post.

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News

School board bans Flock-style license plate readers on FCPS property

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Sign for Fairfax County Public Schools with logo and the text ‘Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Road’.
The sign in front of Fairfax County Public Schools’ Gatehouse Administration Center (file photo)

The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously Thursday (Sept. 24) to ban the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers (ALPRs) on school property.

The motion, introduced by at-large member Kyle McDaniel and seconded by Springfield District representative Sandy Anderson, prohibits the “installation, procurement, or leasing” of ALPRs on property owned by the school board. It has no impact on the school system’s internal video cameras, speed cameras or school bus stop-arm cameras.

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News

Man sentenced to 18 years in attempted child exploitation case

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A man who repeatedly tried to exploit a purported 14-year-old — who was actually an undercover Fairfax County police officer — for lewd images and sex last year was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this week.

According to court records, Mario Alexander Bonilla Canales, 50, was found guilty of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a child during a two-day bench trial held in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in June.

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News

Pandemic-inspired ‘Circles of Memory’ memorial unveiled in Fairfax

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Public park with a glossy glass office building in the background and blue perforated cylinder sculptures in the foreground.
The new “Circles of Memory” memorial near the Herrity Building. (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

Fairfax County marked the installation of its newest public artwork, conceived several years ago as a way to honor local residents lost to COVID-19, with a ceremony attended by a small crowd of people yesterday (Sept. 23).

“Circles of Memory,” located near the county’s Herrity Building and Public Safety Headquarters in Fairfax, was envisioned as a way to memorialize local people lost in the pandemic; in 2024, according to county zoning records, its purpose was expanded to also provide an area of “respite, reflection and remembrance in support of the mental health well-being” of the public and first responders.

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News

Fairfax animal shelter, operating on reduced space, asks residents to help pets find homes

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Tabby cat with yellow eyes lying on a paw-print blanket inside a small enclosure in a kennel/basket area.
Pouncestep, a male tabby cat, is among the pets available for adoption at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. (Courtesy Fairfax County Animal Shelter)

With the Fairfax County Animal Shelter’s Michael Frey campus closed for renovations for the next several months, conditions are getting a little cramped at its Lorton location.

To help more than 60 pets find their forever homes a little more quickly, Fairfax County Animal Services is partnering with the BISSELL Pet Foundation to waive all adoption fees during an “Empty the Shelters” event this weekend, from Friday (Sept. 25) through Sunday (Sept. 27).

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