ARLINGTON, VA — A Washington, D.C., woman has been charged with carjacking after police say she threatened a woman in Arlington's Colonial Village neighborhood, took her keys and drove away in her vehicle.
Leah Elaine Johnson, 26, was arrested Tuesday after Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority Police officers spotted the stolen vehicle and conducted a traffic stop, according to the Arlington County Police Department.
Arlington police charged Johnson with carjacking. Airports Authority Police also charged her with unauthorized use of a vehicle and driving without a license. Arlington General District Court records confirm the carjacking is a felony charge stemming from an incident on Monday..
Just before 5 p.m. Monday, officers responded to the 2100 block of 19th Street North to investigate a larceny report, according to police.
Investigators determined the victim had been walking in the area when a woman approached her from behind and attempted to start a conversation. The victim continued toward her vehicle, with the woman following her, police said.
The woman then made a threatening statement and demanded the victim's keys, according to police. She took the keys, entered the vehicle and drove away.
The following afternoon, Airports Authority Police officers spotted the stolen vehicle and stopped it. The driver was detained, and Arlington detectives subsequently linked her to the Colonial Village carjacking, police said.
Court records identify Johnson as a Washington, D.C., resident and show that she was taken into custody Sept. 1. She is represented by the public defender's office.
The separate unauthorized-use charge is a Class 6 felony under Virginia Code § 18.2-102, according to court records. Johnson also faces a Class 2 misdemeanor charge of driving without a license. Both charges list Sept. 1 as the offense and arrest date.
Johnson is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility, police said. Court records show a bond hearing was scheduled for Thursday, with a preliminary hearing on the felony charges scheduled for Oct. 14 at 11:30 a.m.
Court records also show Johnson had two other Arlington cases dating to January 2025. One initially charged her with felony assault on a law enforcement or corrections officer before the charge was amended to misdemeanor assault and battery. The record shows a guilty plea on March 6, 2025, but lists the case's ultimate disposition as dismissed.
A separate January 2025 case initially charged Johnson with felony arson of an occupied public building. That charge was amended to misdemeanor arson involving an unoccupied building with damage under $1,000. The court record shows a guilty plea on March 17, 2025, while also listing the case's ultimate disposition as dismissed.
The investigation into the Aug. 31 carjacking remains active. Anyone with information can contact the Arlington County Police Department's tip line at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.
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