Countywide

Local Man Dies in Alexandria Jail — “Ahntais Lucas, 39, from Fairfax County, was found unresponsive and alone in his cell experiencing a medical emergency. The release said the jail’s medical staff tried to treat Lucas but he was pronounced deceased at 4:42 a.m.” Lucas’s death is under investigation by Alexandria’s sheriff’s office and police department. [ALXnow]

McLean Man Forced to Drive at Gunpoint — “A McLean man was kidnapped at gunpoint early Sunday morning and forced to drive to his home and another location in Maryland, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Investigators determined that around 12:30 a.m…the victim had arranged to meet with the suspect” in D.C., but upon arriving, he was confronted by two people with handguns. [Patch]

Officer in Fatal Tysons Shooting Had Drawn Gun Before — “In the 13 months before a Fairfax County police sergeant shot and killed an unarmed man suspected of stealing sunglasses from a major shopping mall, the officer twice drew his gun on other suspected shoplifters, spurring criticism that he was acting too aggressively and possibly violating department policies.” [Washington Post]

Fairfax Connector Strike Continues — “Fairfax Connector bus service will remain suspended through Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Operating Status for the rest of the week (February 27-March 1) will be updated as information becomes available. We encourage our users to consider alternative methods of travel and we apologize for the inconvenience and truly appreciate your patience.” [Fairfax Connector]

Cell Phone Service Restored After Outage — Phone service has been restored after a nationwide service outage reported yesterday (Thursday) morning “that affected several major service carriers and impacted phone calls,” including to 911. “Residents may need to reboot their cell phone (possibly multiple times) to establish a connection.” [Ready Fairfax/Facebook]

Springfield Man Pleads Guilty in Connection to Capitol Breach — “A Fairfax County, Virginia, man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felonies connected to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Joseph Brody, 24, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement and civil disorder.” [WTOP]

IRS to Roll Out Free Tax Filing Website — “The IRS’s new Direct File website, a free site for filing a tax return, will open to the public in the coming days, the IRS announced Wednesday. But anyone who hopes to be among the first to use it will have to get lucky and check the website during limited and unannounced windows at the outset.” [Washington Post]

Tysons-Based Hilton Named in Hotel Price-Fixing Lawsuit — “A lawsuit alleging a group of hotel operators artificially increased the price of luxury hotel rooms with the help of a shared database has named industry titans Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Hyatt Hotels Corp. among a list of defendants.” [Bisnow]