Police solve 22-year-old cold case

A composite sketch of the suspect in 1998 and a photo of Juan Johnson taken in Charles County, Md., in 2004. [FCPD]

The Cold Case Squad in the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau identified an offender in a sexual assault case that occurred in Mason District in August 1998.

The suspect had posed as an exterminator and forced his way into a 32-year-old woman’s second-story apartment and threatened her with a gun. The victim ultimately escaped by jumping from a balcony.

The incident occurred in the 7200 block of Parkwood Court behind Loehmann’s Plaza (subsequently renamed Graham Park Plaza).

Detectives collected fingerprints and DNA from the scene and entered them into nationwide databases but the identity of the offender remained unknown. They continued to pursue leads over the years and resubmitted the evidence in early 2019, hoping that newly emerged technology would reveal the suspect’s identity.

Several months later, detectives received a fingerprint hit for Juan Johnson, from Maryland. Johnson died in 2014 at the age of 48 but a blood sample remained on file in Baltimore from his autopsy. The Virginia Department of Forensic Science examined the blood and matched it to Johnson’s DNA.

Victim specialists from the FCPD Victim Services Division have been assigned to ensure that the victim receives appropriate resources and assistance.

Detectives also found Johnson was responsible for a similar case in Arlington a week before.

“This case and our tireless efforts to seek justice and locate the offender is an example that the Major Crimes detectives never give up and always seek justice,” said Major Ed O’Carroll, commander of the Major Crimes Bureau. “I am proud of the work of the cold case detectives and all members of the FCPD detective bureau for how caring and committed they are to seek closure for the victims involved in these important cases.”