Alexandria Man Faces Dozens Of Charges Over Gym Parking Lot Thefts Across NoVA

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An Alexandria man arrested in June is facing 32 new charges in connection with a series of thefts from vehicles parked at fitness centers across Northern Virginia. He’s now facing about 200 separate charges, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Kumneger Ayalsew, 29, was arrested on June 26 in Alexandria after a months-long investigation, Fairfax police say. He is accused of stealing wallets, credit cards and other items from unlocked cars and quickly making gift card purchases with the stolen cards, often before victims realized they’d been robbed.

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Ayalsew was most recently charged in Fairfax County with nine counts of credit card larceny, nine counts of credit card fraud, four counts of vehicle trespassing, five counts of identity theft, two counts of petit larceny, two counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining money by false pretenses.

He was already facing dozens of similar charges for alleged crimes in Fairfax County and Falls Church, in total about 200 charges.

Fairfax County Police Major James Curry called the additional 32 charges against Ayalsew "a drop in the bucket for this individual," in a statement Monday afternoon. He credited surveillance footage and cooperation for the new charges. Curry said the department would be working with the Commonwealth's attorney to "make sure the appropriate attention" is given to a man he called a repeat offender.

He also said more charges against Ayalsew could be coming.

Ayalsew has a long history of criminal charges in Fairfax County, including possessing and selling drugs and several charges for failing to appear in court or violating release conditions. He has also faced charges in Washington, DC.

On July 14, Ayalsew was released on his own recognizance on the Fairfax County charges. He is being held at the Arlington County Detention Center on charges filed by the Falls Church Police Department, Fairfax police said.