A Leesburg man faces multiple criminal charges from two different Northern Virginia counties in connection to a police pursuit that started in Ashburn and ended just outside the Town of Vienna.
On Monday (Oct. 30) afternoon, the Fairfax County Police Department arrested 44-year-old Joseph Daniel at the intersection of Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and Flint Hill Road in Oakton after he allegedly attempted to carjack two vehicles.
Helicopter video shared by the FCPD shows a man trying the driver’s doors of a gray minivan and a red sedan while running away from officers, who ultimately tackle him to the ground.
The FCPD has now charged Daniel with carjacking, disregarding police commands to stop, a felony hit-and-run, driving without a license and reckless driving, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday (Tuesday).
The Loudoun sheriff’s office is expected to file charges of its own related to the pursuit, which began shortly before 2 p.m. after someone called 911 to report an “abduction in progress” at a Wells Fargo bank (43650 Yukon Drive) in Ashburn.
“The LCSO continues to investigate the initial abduction call and multiple charges are pending related to the pursuit,” the office said in a news release, adding that information on the charges will be released “once they are placed.”
According to the LCSO, the vehicle Daniel was driving during the chase — a 2005 Hummer H2 — had been reported stolen in Chantilly on March 16, noting that SUV “had been repainted from its original green color to black.”
The FCPD said on Monday that, after taking Daniel into custody, its officers found a woman inside the Hummer “a short distance away.” She was treated “for minor injuries related to the abduction.”
The sheriff’s office says it already had several “open” warrants for Daniel charging him with two counts of possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, fleeing and eluding, driving without a license, and three counts of violating probation.
Daniel is currently in custody without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
The pursuit and arrest occurred in the same afternoon that the FCPD dealt with a carjacking in Tysons. That incident began at 4:32 p.m. when police responded to a reported commercial theft at Tysons Corner Center and concluded shortly thereafter when the suspect crashed the stolen vehicle into a nearby Shell gas station.