Woodbridge Man Arrested After Barricading Himself Inside House

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A Woodbridge man was arrested early on New Year's Day after speeding away from a police traffic stop and eventually barricading himself inside a house, the Prince William Police Department said. After a short time barricaded inside the house, a police SWAT team took the suspect into custody.

Nickolas Daniel Sparks, 26, is facing several charges, including attempted malicious wounding of a police officer, possession with intent to sell a controlled substance, felony eluding, probation violation and driving on a revoked license. A 36-year-old male passenger in the car, who did not flee the police when the car came to a stop, was charged with possession with intent to see a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to sell a controlled substance.

The saga began at around 12:50 a.m. on Jan. 1 when police officers on patrol in the area of Route 1 and Bel Air Road attempted to pull over Sparks, who was driving a 2000 Volkswagen Passat. Sparks decided to speed off instead of stop, according to police, and tried to strike a police cruiser with his car. A collision was avoided by a police officer's quick reactions, the police said.

Eventually, Sparks' car stopped at a residence in the 1500 block of Woodside Drive in Woodbridge where he fled the scene on foot. Officers, including a police K-9 and a helicopter from the Fairfax County Police Department, searched the area for the suspect who was not immediately located.

Several hours later, at about 10 a.m. on New Year's Day, officers located Sparks at a residence in the 12600 block of Leeway Court where he was arrested by a SWAT team after the occupants of the house had left.

The occupants of the house did not report any injuries. Sparks was slightly injured when he initially fled police on foot earlier that morning.