A Virginia police chief credited the “good police work” of members of Fairfax and Arlington county police departments, which led to the arrest of two suspects at a busy Virginia shopping mall.
Fairfax County police Chief Kevin Davis told WTOP’s “DMV Download” podcast that an off-duty Arlington police officer, who was at Tysons Corner Center on Sunday, saw people who were linked to a robbery in Arlington at the mall.
The Arlington officer called Fairfax County police, which approached the individuals and tried to verify their identity, Davis said. That’s when the people took off and a chase ensued. No shots were fired, but police recovered a gun.
“We caught two out of the three; we’ve identified the third,” Davis said. Of the two arrested was a 16-year-old boy from Centreville.
He is facing multiple charges, including possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of a stolen firearm, obstruction of justice, possession of a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a person underage.
Davis said that Tysons Corner is a “great safe place,” despite this latest incident. What happened on Sunday comes six months after a shooting at the mall in June, which led to panicked shoppers fleeing and the shopping center closing as police investigated.
A D.C. rapper wanted in connection to the shooting turned himself in a few days after the shooting.
Davis said D.C. police Chief Robert Contee bought him a steak for lunch after Noah Settles, who Davis said was known to D.C. police, was arrested in Fairfax County.
“He fired three shots in a crowded mall on a Saturday afternoon in Fairfax County. That’s a big deal,” Davis said. “We’re proud of the fact that we caught him so quickly.”
Rising number of domestic crime
In 2022, Davis said the department seized some 1,000 guns in the county, not all of which were involved in a crime.
“We have seized more guns this year than any other year in recent history,” Davis said.
Of the 78 arrests since April of people driving stolen cars, 17 had guns, he added.
“The young people, young men, unfortunately, all too often, who steal cars in 2022, whether it’s Fairfax, or D.C, or Prince George’s or Montgomery, Prince William, are also more likely than ever to carry guns on their person,” Davis said.
But Davis said he is seeing a rise in “family member on family member” assaults.
“In 2021, seven of our 21 murders were adult children killing their parents. In 2022, eight out of our 21 murders are domestic-related,” Davis said, citing several issues that he said could have contributed to these incidents, including social isolation, depression, anxiety and mental and behavioral crises.
“We have a full-time commitment in Fairfax County, as do a lot of our neighboring jurisdictions, to the co-responder theory of putting clinicians in cars with cops, so we can respond and help those people out while they’re in crisis,” Davis said.
However, he said education is a huge component.
“All too often the police are notified for the very first time right of boom, but someone knows about that dynamic left of boom. So, how do we get people to come forward and get the right folks involved? It doesn’t have to necessarily be the cops. But get somebody to intervene when a relationship or family dynamic is going badly,” Davis said.
What’s ahead for the department?
Davis also shared what the department is pursuing, including bias-related incidents, drug overdoses and gang-related crimes.
He said the department is keeping track of bias complaints, which this year police received eight. In 2021, one complaint was filed, while in 2020, there were 10.
“You divide those numbers into 1.3 million people, it’s minuscule. But I say that, not minimizing the fact that we did have eight, and there was someone on the receiving end of that, who felt threatened and afraid,” Davis said, adding that incidents of bias were “disturbing.”
Fairfax County police are also in the process of investigating some old gang-related homicides in the county.
Lastly, Davis said the fentanyl epidemic is not unique to just one jurisdiction, but it exists across socio-economic lines.
“It’s white. It’s Black. It’s Latino. It’s rich. It’s poor. It’s in between. So the impact is great,” he said.
He said there is an assumption that people unknowingly or unwittingly ingest fentanyl, and “that’s just not true.”
“People seek it,” Davis said. “Particularly the ones who are profoundly addicted to first opioids and then heroin and then fentanyl because they’re seeking that next high; and they’re trying to get to a place where they haven’t been before and take it to the edge. And people seek fentanyl.”
