The Virginia man who was on the run from police for nearly 12 hours Thursday, before allegedly firing at officers during a pursuit that stretched across two counties, has been charged with a string of felonies.
Ricardo Singleton, 27, of Arlington, is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. He is facing a total of 12 charges in Fairfax and Arlington counties, including felony eluding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and multiple counts of attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer.
No police officers were hurt in the gunfire.
One Fairfax County police officer fired his weapon, police said. That officer, identified only as an 11-year-veteran of the department’s Special Operations Division, has been placed on restricted duty status as the department investigates the use of force, the department said in a news release.
Officers had been looking for Singleton after a bizarre incident several hours earlier Thursday, when he was seen brandishing a firearm, telling officers he needed help, and then driving off. The police chase began in Arlington County shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday when officers spotted Singleton’s car in the area of Columbia Pike and S. Wakefield Street.
When police in Arlington attempted to stop Singleton’s car, authorities said he fled, firing in the direction of officers. The pursuit continued onto Route 50 in Fairfax County, where Singleton crashed into multiple cars in the area of Route 50 and Graham Road in Falls Church, then bailed out of his car.
Once out of his car, Singleton fired additional shots at officers, which included officers from Arlington and Fairfax counties as well as Virginia State Police.
“It’s an absolute miracle that no one was struck, killed or injured,” during the two shootings in Arlington and Falls Church, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a news conference Thursday night.
Singleton was eventually found hiding behind a nearby store.
Police also found a “semi-automatic with an extended magazine” at the scene.
Singleton’s run-ins with authorities began shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday when Arlington County Sheriff’s deputies found his vehicle stopped in a crosswalk on Courthouse Road.
As they approached, they saw him pointing a gun towards the ceiling of the car, and then drove away, according to authorities. Deputies followed him to a nearby garage where he told officers he needed help. Then he drove off, hitting another car in a hit-and-run crash.
Police said he turned up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, later in the day, but fled from officers when they tried to stop his car.
Fairfax County police said body camera footage of the incident will be released within 30 days in line with the department’s policies. The name of the officer who fired his weapon will be released within 10 days unless the police chief determines there is a credible threat to the officer’s safety.
