(Updated at 8:25 p.m.) A motorcyclist was killed last night (Wednesday) in a two-vehicle crash just outside the Rolling Valley shopping mall in Burke, police say.
Officers and a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue medic were dispatched to the intersection of Old Keene Mill Road and Shiplett Blvd around 10:05 p.m. for a crash involving a motorcycle and car, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
According to a dispatcher, 911 callers reported that the motorcyclist didn’t appear to be moving or conscious.
“Driver…kept saying he didn’t see him,” the dispatcher said.
The motorcycle driver, identified as 50-year-old Burke resident Mohab Helmy, was declared dead at the scene, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release.
The intersection was closed to traffic as police investigated the crash until 1:43 a.m. today (Thursday).
Based on a preliminary investigation, detectives believe Helmy crashed into the driver’s side of a 2005 Toyota sedan while traveling west in the left through-lane of Old Keene Mill Road on a 2007 Yamaha motorcycle, the FCPD said.
The Toyota driver was attempting to turn left onto Old Keene Mill out of the Rolling Valley shopping center when the crash occurred, according to police.
“The driver of the Toyota remained on scene and was uninjured,” the police department said. “[Crash Reconstruction Unit] detectives continue to investigate the crash.”
This is Fairfax County’s second fatal motorcycle crash in 2024 after a 19-year-old man died last month in a crash on Leesburg Pike (Route 7) in Bailey’s Crossroads. The driver in that March 10 collision was charged with failing to yield while making a left turn.
Overall, 10 people have been killed in vehicle crashes this year, not including pedestrians — doubling the five fatalities recorded at this time in 2023, according to the FCPD.
UPDATE: The intersection is now open. Follow our blog for available updates at https://t.co/XTgRJykwD5
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 25, 2024
(Updated at 1 p.m.) Fairfax County police are investigating an evidently unfounded bomb threat that forced an evacuation of West Potomac High School this morning (Wednesday).
A search of the school at 6500 Quander Road in Belle Haven revealed “no suspicious devices,” police announced at 12:26 p.m.
“Detectives continue to investigate the apparent false threat,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Students were evacuated from their classes after a bomb threat came in by phone from an unknown number, according to the FCPD, which sent its Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit to conduct a search.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the students have been moved from the school to an alternate location,” the FCPD said in a tweet shortly before 10 a.m.
Officers are on scene at West Potomac High School in Belle Haven for a reported bomb threat. A person on an unknown number reported the threat. Out of an abundance of caution, the students have been moved from the school to an alternate location as our EOD conducts a search. pic.twitter.com/t1ruxFCMbo
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 24, 2024
According to scanner traffic on Open MHz, police responded to the reported threat claiming a “student has a bomb in a backpack” around 8:46 a.m.
School security said around 9:30 a.m. that students were evacuated to the school’s athletic stadium and directed to leave their backpacks for police to search.
When FFXnow arrived shortly after 10:40 a.m., West Potomac High School’s doors remained closed, and students, faculty and police could be seen gathered behind the school. Videos shared with FFXnow show students sitting quietly on the football field and in the bleachers, while police dogs sniffed their bags.
Video From The Scene pic.twitter.com/nN5hP754s7
— Fletcher Flicks (@CondonFletcher) April 24, 2024
— John McDonald (@Debrezzy_) April 24, 2024
Fairfax County Public Schools directed inquiries to the police department, which said that its social media post contained the only information currently available.
Shortly before 11 a.m., an administrator announced on a bullhorn that teachers would be allowed back into the school first, followed by students.
“We are about to reunite you with your book bag and your lunch,” the administrator said.
James Cullum contributed to this report
The Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) has fired an employee after she got arrested for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenager.
Zoha Sultan, a 23-year-old woman from Lorton, was arrested on April 20 for her relationship with a teen attending the Lorton Community Center, where she worked, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Tuesday).
According to NCS, the community center’s management “was made aware” on April 11 that an employee was having a relationship with a minor.
“Staff immediately notified Fairfax County Police Department and Child Protective Services,” NCS Division Director Chris Scales said. “The employee was immediately removed from the center’s work schedule and banned from the facility.”
NCS terminated Sultan’s employment on April 23, Scales said in the statement, which is being shared with Lorton Community Center participants.
The FCPD confirmed that the relationship was reported to its officers on April 11, prompting detectives to launch an investigation.
Sultan, who started working at the community center in January 2023, has been charged with four counts of indecent liberties with a minor by a person in a custodial position, according to the FCPD.
NCS and the police say anyone with additional information about the case can contact detectives at 703-246-7800, option 4. NCS can also be reached at 703-324-3480.
“We value the trust that families place in us to create a safe and nurturing environment where children can thrive and reach their full potential,” Scales said. “Their well-being and growth remain the highest priority for Fairfax County Neighborhood & Community Services.”
Located at 9520 Richmond Highway, the Lorton Community Center opened in October 2022 as part of a new campus that also hosts the Lorton Library and Lorton Park. The 30,000-square-foot facility includes space for the nonprofit Lorton Community Action Center, a senior center and a teen center.
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A counselor at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia is facing criminal charges after he allegedly head-butted an 11-year-old student last week.
Detectives began investigating the reported assault on April 16 and found that Craig Small, a 44-year-old Lorton resident, assaulted the student and “carried him out of the cafeteria” in response to the student calling him “a derogative name,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Small has been served warrants for misdemeanor assault and battery, police said.
According to the FCPD, Small has been a school counselor at Glasgow since August 2021, but he no longer appears to be listed in the school’s staff directory or its webpage for student services staff.
“He remains out on leave,” a Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson said when asked about Small’s employment status.
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.
The Fairfax County Police Department is seeking a suspect possibly connected to three robberies in which the man used pepper spray against store employees.
Police said the latest incident occurred on Tuesday in the Rose Hill neighborhood.
According to police:
[Tuesday] night around 1 a.m., officers responded to the 7-Eleven at 6146 Rose Hill Drive in Rose Hill for a robbery. The suspect entered the store, pepper sprayed the employee and stole merchandise. The victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene.
Police said the incident followed a similar robbery at Velvets Tobacco and More (8524 Richmond Highway) in Woodlawn on Saturday.
The suspect entered the vape shop and demanded merchandise and personal property from the employee. He pepper sprayed the clerk in the face then stole cash from the register and merchandise. The suspect also stole the victim’s car keys. The victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene. The suspect left the area in the victim’s 2012 Infinity G35. Around 1:45 a.m. officers found the stolen car unoccupied close by on Sky View Drive and Earl Flannagan Drive.
On April 11, at approximately 11:00 p.m. the same suspect entered the Shell gas station at 8500 Richmond Highway in Woodlawn and demanded cash. The suspect took money from the register then pepper sprayed the clerk. The suspect ran from the business prior to police arrival. The victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 3.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone — 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for a cash reward.
Police are investigating the the fatal shooting of a woman who died at Mount Vernon Hospital last night.
The Fairfax Police Department said around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night the woman was taken to the hospital by a man who remained on-scene.
ABC7 reported that for a brief time, only emergency services were allowed in the hospital, though full service later resumed.
Police said that detectives are still investigating to determine where the shooting occurred and the circumstances around the woman’s death.
Detectives are on scene at Mt Vernon Hosp for an adult woman who was fatally shot. Victim was brought to hospital by a man who remains on scene. Detectives are investigating to determine where shooting occurred & circumstances. Follow our blog for more details when available. pic.twitter.com/vHchzTcapR
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 18, 2024
A juvenile was arrested for allegedly abducting and raping an adult woman in Reston.
The incident occurred just before 11:30 p.m. on April 15 in the laundry room of an apartment building on the 11900 block of Winterthur Lane, according to a Fairfax County Police Department press release. The victim was threatened with a knife before being sexually assaulted, police say.
Detectives from the Major Crimes Bureau quickly identified and apprehended the suspect following the incident. The juvenile is now being held at the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of rape, forcible sodomy and abduction with the intent to defile, without the possibility of bond.
According to police, the victim recognized the suspect from the area, but does not know them.
An au pair linked to a fatal shooting last year in Herndon has been officially charged with murder.
On Monday (April 15), a grand jury indicted Juliana Peres Magalhaes, a 23-year-old live-in au pair from Brazil, on charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm, according to a press release from Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.
Magalhaes was arrested last year for her alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan at the Herndon home of her employers, Christine and Brendan Banfield.
Christine Banfield was allegedly killed by Ryan, who reportedly stabbed her. The nature of the relationship between Ryan and Christine Banfield remains unclear, though it has been suggested they may have been having an affair.
At a preliminary hearing last month, a Fairfax County judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for Peres Magalhaes’ case to proceed to trial.
During the hearing, prosecutors proposed that the deaths of Ryan and Christine Banfield may have been part of a conspiracy involving Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, who were allegedly also having an affair at the time.
The evidence presented at the hearing included several framed photographs of Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhaes embracing, along with a woman’s robe hanging off a dresser, all found in Brendan Banfield’s bedroom seven months after the shooting, at the time of Peres Magalhaes’ arrest.
Prosecutors also alleged that Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhaes visited a shooting range in Ashburn a few months before the incident and had replaced their personal cell phones just days before the shooting. Brendan Banfield returned to the range a month later to purchase a handgun, though it has not been confirmed if it was used on Ryan.
According to prosecutors, Brendan Banfield initially shot Ryan after he allegedly saw him stab his wife. Peres Magalhaes then allegedly shot Ryan a second time, resulting in his death. Prosecutors argued that the second shot was unwarranted as Ryan was already incapacitated after the first shot.
Peres Magalhaes has not been convicted. Instead, a majority of grand jurors, distinct from a trial jury, agree with the judge that there is sufficient evidence to advance her case to trial.
A trial date is expected to be set on Thursday, April 18.
