Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

Virginia leaders denounce ICE

Virginia’s two senators and congressional representatives from Northern Virginia are speaking out against ICE after the murders of two protestors in Minneapolis. Sen. Tim Kaine said he won’t support the House-approved appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security because it lacks “effective safeguards against ICE operations that inflame tensions within our cities, terrorize our … Continued

Man convicted of 2021 ATM murder

Winston Nathaniel Lark IV, 20, was convicted by a jury of first-degree felony murder for killing Nelson Alexander, 73, during an ATM robbery, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced Jan. 22. Lark was also convicted of using a firearm in committing a murder. In the early morning of Oct. 20, 2021, Alexander, of Falls Church, went … Continued

Woman fatally stabbed in Annandale

A woman was fatally stabbed in Annandale on Friday, Nov. 7, the Fairfax County Police Department reports. The suspect is in custody. Shortly before 10 p.m., officers responded to a report of an unconscious person with trauma to the upper body in the 3900 block of Terrace Drive in the Columbia Pines neighborhood. Upon arrival, … Continued

Annandale man arrested for murder

A man was charged with second-degree murder for the death of a homeless man in Annandale on Aug. 4. The medical examiner’s office contacted detectives on Aug. 12 about a suspicious death, the Fairfax County Police Department reports. Police learned that Elmer Castro, 32, of no fixed address, had been brought to a local hospital … Continued

Man convicted for murder at Fairmont Gardens

Ezequiel Diaz-Mondragon, 21, was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for killing Anthony “Tony” Benitez, 18, at Fairmont Gardens in Annandale on Feb. 19, 2021, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced June 26. Diaz-Mondragon was also convicted on one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Prosecutors showed at trial … Continued

Annandale man indicted for murder at hotel

A grand jury has indicted Hiep Van Vo, 43, of Annandale, for second-degree murder in the November 2023 homicide of Charles Ashe Jr., 44, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced May 20. Prosecutors allege that Vo shot Ashe at the Falls Church Marriott hotel at 3111 Fairview Park Drive. The police had received a report of … Continued

Man indicted for cold case murder

A grand jury has indicted Jose Larazo Cruz, 60, for murdering his estranged wife 33 years ago, the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced April 15. Larazo Cruz had been charged with fatally stabbing Ana Jurado, 24, on April 30, 1991, in their home on Cofer Drive in the Falls Church area of Mason District. … Continued