Fairfax County Police have arrested another individual involved in a “street takeover” in Springfield earlier this month.
On Friday, April 19, Baltimore County Police Department detained a 20-year-old man from Parkville, Maryland, according to FCPD. He faces charges of abduction, assaulting a law enforcement officer, wearing a mask in public and obstruction of justice.
The individual is currently held in Baltimore County, awaiting extradition to Fairfax County.
The arrest is part of a series following an incident earlier this month when Fairfax County Police encountered a “mob” of people in a parking lot at 6600 Electronic Drive around 3 a.m. on March 31 (Easter Sunday).
According to police, the group blocked an officer’s vehicle, climbed on it, and aggressively banged on the windows. The situation escalated when an individual was seen brandishing what appears to be a rifle from a car.
Police have made three arrests so far, with additional arrests expected as the investigation continues.
A Lorton man has been arrested and charged with murder following a domestic-related fatal shooting on Wednesday night.
Police were called to Mount Vernon Hospital at 2501 Parker Lane in Hybla Valley following an incident where Huy Tien Nguyen, 47, admitted his girlfriend, Alison “Kate” LaPorta, 38, who had sustained a gunshot wound to her upper body, according to a Fairfax County Police Department press release.
Nguyen initially told officers the shooting occurred in a parking lot. However, detectives says they later determined Nguyen allegedly shot LaPorta inside the vehicle he used to then drive LaPorta to the hospital. Detectives recovered the firearm near Nguyen’s Lorton home.
Nguyen was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center where he is being held without bond.
A Manassas man was arrested this weekend after allegedly firing a gun at another vehicle during a road rage incident in Centreville.
According to a Fairfax County Police Department press release, police responded to the intersection of Compton Road and Centreville Road in Centreville on Saturday, April 13, after it was reported that a shooting had occurred.
The incident began around 9:30 a.m. after the victim passed the suspect’s vehicle on Compton Road, per the release. The suspect, later identified as Brian Fuentes Ruiz, 22, then followed the victim closely and subsequently fired several shots at the victim’s vehicle.
No one was injured, according to police.
After the incident, Fuentes Ruiz fled eastbound on I-66 but was quickly apprehended by authorities and a firearm was recovered from the doorframe. No one else was in the vehicle, and the Fuentes Ruiz and victim were not acquainted.
The suspect has been charged with attempted malicious wounding by shooting, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, shooting from a vehicle, maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle and brandishing. Fuentes Ruiz was held without bond.
A 23-year-old man from Arlington has been charged with manslaughter in connection to a Feb. 16 crash in Bailey’s Crossroads that resulted in the death of a 93-year-old woman.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced on Thursday (April 4) that its detectives believe Isai Jimenez Paz was speeding when he allegedly crashed into a Toyota Corolla at the Leesburg Pike and South Jefferson Street intersection.
“[He] was driving a Toyota GR86 at a high speed westbound on Leesburg Pike,” the FCPD said in an updated news release. “The driver of a Toyota Corolla attempted a left turn onto a service road near South Jefferson Street from the eastbound lane of Leesburg Pike. Jimenez Paz struck the Corolla.”
The occupants of both vehicles, including the drivers and one passenger in each, were all transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. Falls Church resident Gladys Bilbao, the Corolla passenger, died from her injuries on Feb. 21.
Jimenez Paz, his passenger and the Corolla driver have since been discharged from the hospital, according to police.
Detectives arrested Jimenez Paz and charged him with involuntary manslaughter on April 3, the FCPD said. Released from custody on a secured bond, he’s scheduled for an arraignment this Wednesday (April 10) and a preliminary hearing on July 15, according to Fairfax County General District Court records.
There have been two fatal crashes on Leesburg Pike this year, both of them in the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Police also announced last week that the driver in a crash that killed a motorcyclist at Glen Carlyn Drive on March 10 has been charged with failing to yield on left turn.
Image via Google Maps
Several people have been identified and charged in connection to a “street takeover” in Springfield on Sunday (March 31).
The Fairfax County Police Department announced today (Wednesday) that detectives arrested and charged an 18-year-old man from Woodbridge and a 17-year-old Arlington man who allegedly took part in a rowdy “mob” in a parking lot in the 6600 block of Electronic Drive around 3 a.m.
When officers pulled into the parking lot on Sunday, they found a “large group of individuals driving recklessly in circle,” police said in a news release.
According to the release, when a police cruiser drove up to confront the group, they encircled the vehicle, preventing it from moving. At least one individual attempted to remove the cruiser’s license plate, while others “acted disorderly.”
Authorities described a chaotic scene where a group blocked an officer’s vehicle, climbed on it, and aggressively banged on the windows. The situation escalated when an individual was seen brandishing what appears to be a rifle from a car.
As dozens of officers from across the county responded, the crowd involved in what police are calling a “street takeover” began to disperse. At least one video of the incident was posted on Instagram.
Video posted by the page “dmvmoviemaker,” w/ 800 followers on Instagram, shows more of the chaos that transpired during Easter Sunday’s 3am car ‘takeover’ in Springfield, VA. An officer was struck by one of the cars as well. Several arrest warrants have already been issued. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/2VKAWen5Zq
— DMV News Live (@DCNewsLive) April 2, 2024
According to police, one person at the scene drove off “at a high rate of speed,” hitting an officer who suffered “minor injuries.” A pursuit of the fleeing vehicle was initiated but later aborted.
That same morning, Prince William County Police responded to a similar incident around 12:36 a.m. at the Market at Opitz Crossing shopping center in Woodbridge, where there was reportedly a “car meet-up,” according to WJLA.
Following an investigation, the FCPD says the 18-year-old from Woodbridge has been charged with reckless driving after a crash involving a cruiser. The 17-year-old Arlington man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and abduction for jumping on the police cruiser and preventing the officer from leaving.
The driver who allegedly hit and injured the police officer has been identified as an 18-year-old from Catonsville, Maryland. Detectives obtained warrants for felony hit and run, speed to elude, and driving without a license, but the warrants haven’t been served, per the release.
Police also have a warrant for a 20-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, charging him with abduction, assault on a law enforcement officer, obstruction of justice, and wearing a mask in public.
“Detectives from our Criminal Investigation Division and Special Investigation Division are actively investigating the assault on our officer as well as the reckless driving,” the FCPD said. “Additional arrests are anticipated as detectives continue to investigate.”
The driver involved in last month’s fatal motorcycle crash on Leesburg Pike (Route 7) has been charged with failing to yield on a left turn.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Monday) that its detectives had arrested the 35-year-old man from Bailey’s Crossroads and charged him with the traffic violation. He was released from custody after being served a summons.
An investigation found that the driver was headed west on Leesburg Pike in a 2000 Acura sedan and attempted to turn left onto Glen Carlyn Drive around 11 p.m. on March 10, according to the police.
“This caused the victim, who was riding a motorcycle at the time, to collide with Machado’s vehicle,” the FCPD said.
Alejandro Portillo, a 19-year-old from Arlington, was riding a 1996 Yamaha motorcycle east on Leesburg Pike in the left through-lane when he crashed into the sedan, police said in the initial news release.
Officers responded to the scene in Bailey’s Crossroads around 11:10 p.m. Portillo was taken to a hospital, where he died that evening.
Like in a 2022 crash on West Ox Road that killed a motorcyclist, the police investigation found that the driver’s actions in this case didn’t meet Virginia’s standards for a reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter charge, according to the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Failure to yield the right-of-way can constitute reckless driving under state law, but it only applies in instances where the driver “fails to bring his vehicle to a stop immediately before entering a highway from a side road when there is traffic approaching” within 500 feet of the entrance.
“Though this tragic incident resulted in the death of one of our community members, the charge brought against the defendant is the appropriate one and reflects the alleged facts of the case,” Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Laura Birnbaum said.
Court proceedings in the West Ox Road crash concluded on Feb. 27 with the driver being fined $50, an outcome that “disappointed” the mother of Andrew Dearing, the motorcyclist who was killed.
According to the Fairfax County General District Court, Virginia imposes uniform fines for traffic offenses that can’t be altered by a clerk or magistrate, though it doesn’t restrict the amount that a judge could charge if the case reaches a court hearing. The total for failing to yield on a left turn is $97, including court costs and processing fees.
The driver in the crash that killed Portillo is scheduled to appear in court for an adjudicatory hearing on July 3, according to court records.
Image via Google Maps
A man who sexually assaulted two women in the Annandale area on consecutive days last week is now in custody, police say.
Kevin Lopez Altan, 24, of Annandale was arrested on Friday (March 22) after allegedly raping a business owner multiple times two days earlier and separately attacking a Northern Virginia Community College student the previous day, the Fairfax County Police Department announced this afternoon (Monday).
At a press conference, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described the assault against the business owner in particular as “abhorrent and inhumane.”
“There is no reason beyond he is evil personified. He’s brutal in his attacks on women. He’s relentless in his attacks on women,” Davis said. “…We’re proud that we were able to put him in handcuffs, but we can’t begin to explain criminal misconduct like his.”
According to police, a man tried to enter a business near John Marr Drive around 11 a.m. on Wednesday (March 20). Since the business was closed, the owner, a 59-year-old woman, told him that he couldn’t enter two times before he forced himself inside when she opened the door to tell him a third time.
The man then held the woman captive inside her own business for “several hours,” police said.
“Throughout this nightmare, the suspect sexually assaulted the victim repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she didn’t do exactly what he told her to do,” Sully District Station Captain Dan Spital said. “The victim found the moment when the suspect’s attention was diverted and bravely took that opportunity to escape.”
After escaping, the woman managed to run to a nearby business, where she asked someone for help. The 911 call came in at 10:13 pm., according to the FCPD.
While investigating the case, FCPD detectives learned that the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Police were looking into an attempted sexual assault that had been reported around 8:50 p.m. on Thursday (March 21) at its Annandale campus.
The 20-year-old woman who got attacked is a current student and was able to get assistance from a nearby student in fending off the assault, NOVA Police Chief William “Jake” Jacoby said at the press conference.
After comparing notes, including a composite sketch created by the FCPD, investigators from the two departments determined they were looking for the same individual, according to Spital.
Lopez Alton was identified by a NOVA Police officer who coincidentally recognized a description from FCPD detectives of the suspect’s “unique” tattoos and “mannerisms.” The officer had encountered Lopez Alton in his previous work as a Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy.
When FCPD investigators found that Lopez Alton’s fingerprints matched ones found at the Annandale business, police launched a manhunt for him, targeting shopping centers around Annandale where he was “known to hang out,” Spital said. He was ultimately arrested in the Heritage Center (7617 Little River Turnpike) round 1:20 p.m. on Friday. Read More
An 18-year-old suspect turned himself in last night in connection with the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old Westfield High School student on Wednesday (March 20), police say.
The Fairfax County Police Department announced the arrest of Ismael Cruz-Delcid, 18, of Herndon at a press conference this morning (Friday).
Police suspect Cruz-Delcid knew the victim, who died after being shot outside the Sonesta Extended Stay Suites in the McNair area of Herndon. Another teen was shot at during the two rounds of firing but managed to escape without injury.
The FCPD identified Cruz-Delcid as a suspect in the shooting yesterday. He has been charged with second-degree murder, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and felony distribution of cocaine.
The drug charge stems from “a previous narcotics investigation,” police previously stated.
The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a verbal argument between the three teens in the hotel parking lot.
Police Chief Kevin Davis emphasized that, while it’s unclear if the encounter was gang-related, the victims knew each other, characterizing the encounter as a “neighborhood association.”
Davis lamented the proliferation of guns in small disputes as a nationwide challenge.
“Seemingly petty disputes are resolved with firearms,” Davis said.
Police said that the teens were involved in ongoing verbal disputes that remain under investigation.
Cruz-Delcid turned himself shortly after 11 p.m. last night after a discussion between law enforcement and an attorney. He did not provide any statement to police and is being held without bond.
The suspected shooter recently graduated from Mountain View Alternative High School in Centreville, according to police.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said the school system is providing counseling to students at Westfield and Herndon High School, along with other high schools on an as-needed basis.
A Maryland man who fled police in a reportedly stolen vehicle is facing multiple charges of assault against Virginia state troopers.
According to the Virginia State Police, troopers received an alert around 3:41 a.m. yesterday (Sunday) that a gray sedan reported to have been stolen might be traveling on Richmond Highway (Route 1) in the Huntington area.
The vehicle was spotted by a trooper who turned on his lights and siren for a traffic stop, but the driver instead “sped away and initiated a pursuit,” police said.
As the chase moved onto the Capital Beltway (I-495) and then onto southbound I-95, the driver rammed a state police patrol vehicle four different times, according to the VSP:
As the pursuit approached Route 1 and Interstate 495, the suspect vehicle twice rammed a State Police patrol vehicle. The pursuit then continued onto Interstate 495 westbound, where the suspect struck the same trooper’s vehicle a third time, and then onto Interstate 95 southbound, where the trooper’s vehicle was struck a fourth time.
Police ultimately used a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver to turn and halt the vehicle on I-95 near the Backlick Road exit, the VSP said.
“The driver then fled the vehicle on foot, but was taken into custody a few minutes later without further incident,” police said.
The driver — described as a 24-year-old man from College Park, Maryland — faces four charges each of assault on law enforcement, felony hit-and-run, misdemeanor hit-and-run and destruction of state property. He has also been charged with eluding law enforcement, grand larceny, driving without a license, not wearing a seatbelt and “being a pedestrian on the interstate.”
The last charge stems from the brief foot pursuit, a VSP spokesperson confirmed.
Police also arrested two adults who were passengers in the sedan on outstanding warrants.
The Fairfax County Police Department said in its year-end crime report for 2023 that it saw an uptick in assaults against police officers compared to 2022.
Image via Google Maps
A Pimmit Hills man has been accused of possessing child porn and having sex with a teenager who was reported missing in New York.
Detectives arrested 20-year-old Muammer Steve Demir on Friday (March 15) after they found him with the teen at a house in the 7300 block of Sportsman Drive, the Fairfax County Police Department announced today (Monday).
Demir was in possession of child sexual abuse material when police arrived at the house, according to the FCPD.
The FCPD says its Missing Person Unit and Child Exploitation Unit detectives were notified yesterday that a missing teen from New York may be in Fairfax County, and their investigation led them to Demir’s house.
“Detectives learned Demir drove to New York in August of 2023 and then brought the juvenile back to Virginia,” the FCPD said.
Demir has been charged with having carnal knowledge of a child and possessing child abuse material, but additional charges are expected, according to police. He’s currently in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
The teen has been reunited with her family, the FCPD said.
After an arraignment on March 15, Demir is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 25, per Fairfax County General District Court records.
