Accused 'Bicycle Bandit' Pleads Guilty to Two Charges

Sign up for the Fairfax City Patch newsletter!

Image: Wossen Assaye (FCPD)

The criminal suspect known as the “bicycle bandit” pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of brandishing a firearm while making an escape on March 31 that triggered a massive, region-wide manhunt.

Wossen Assaye, 43, also admitted in court that he committed nearly a dozen bank robberies in Northern Virginia from October 2013 through March, when he was arrested, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. After several heists, Assaye allegedly rode away on a bicycle, which led to the nickname coined by the local media.

The firearm charges against Assaye stemmed from his assaults early on the morning of March 31 on two security guards at Inova Fairfax Hospital, federal prosecutors said. In breaking away, Assaye assaulted a security guard, overpowered her and took her firearm. He then pointed the gun at a second guard before pulling the first guard down the hospital hallway at gunpoint and fleeing the hospital.

His escape triggered a huge police response that involved dozens of officers, helicopters, roadblocks and live coverage on local TV. Over the course of nine hours, Assaye allegedly carjacked two vehicles before law enforcement authorities captured him as he got off a Metro bus in Washington, D.C.

He made his guilty pleas Thursday in a hearing at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Assaye faces a mandatory minimum of 32 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 9.

Assaye had originally been brought to the hospital in March while in federal custody after being arrested and jailed for the string of 11 bank robberies. In another instance, he entered a bank with the intent to commit a robbery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.