Police Blotter

Prince William County police charged a Gainesville woman after a firearm discharged inside an apartment at SomerHill Farms. Stafford deputies also took a cryptocurrency-website fraud complaint, two vandalism reports, and charged a Stafford man after an after-hours call at 540 Auto on Cambridge Street.

On Sept. 24, officers responded to the SomerHill Farms Apartments in the 7300 block of Yountville Drive in Gainesville (20155) to investigate a report of shots fired. Police said that on Sept. 23 at about 11 p.m., an occupant identified as the accused was cleaning her firearm when it discharged, striking the front door of the apartment and the ceiling of the breezeway. An officer located the spent bullet on the floor of the breezeway near the accused’s apartment. No injuries or additional property damage were reported. Helena Rayzette Perkins, 48, of Gainesville, was charged Sept. 24 with reckless handling of a firearm. Court date pending. Released on a court summons. Police noted no photo was available.

Fredericksburg police on Tuesday night took a stabbing call in the 500 block of Caroline Street. The victim was treated for life-threatening injuries. Joseph Crawford, 64, of Fredericksburg, was held without bond on aggravated assault and public drunkenness charges.

Stafford County deputies on Sept. 23 took two fraud reports with no suspects named.

Prince William County police said a 22-year-old man was treated at a hospital after an early-morning aggravated assault in the 6500 block of Trading Square in Haymarket, and that Fauquier County deputies arrested Louis Earl Blount Jr., 27, of Bealeton, on a robbery warrant from an Aug. 28 shoplifting-turned-shove at Target in Gainesville. Stafford County deputies said they arrested Johnny Blue, 26, of Stafford, for public intoxication after a Sept. 22 evening disturbance at Washington Square Plaza and took a Discover Bank scam report on Culpepper Street with no loss. Fredericksburg police asked the public for help locating Dominique Cooke, last seen Sept. 21 near The Commons at Cowan Boulevard.

On Sept. 23 at 2:12 a.m., officers responded to investigate an assault reported the prior evening in the 6500 block of Trading Square in Haymarket (20169). Police said a 22-year-old man was approached from behind and struck by an unknown person, then fell to the ground where the assault continued. The parties separated and a bystander contacted police. The victim was treated at an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was not located and was described as a white male wearing a green shirt and gray shorts.

Prince William County police reported two death investigations with no preliminary signs of foul play, including a 27-year-old man found unconscious Sept. 21 in a vehicle at the Promenade shopping center near Manassas and a 30-year-old woman found unconscious Sept. 20 in a vehicle on Penbury Court in Woodbridge. The same county report said officers obtained a robbery warrant for Derek Matthew Powlowsky, 22, of Woodbridge, after a Sept. 16 meeting in Dumfries arranged over a cell-phone sale. Stafford County deputies said they arrested Michael Drozdowicz, 48, of Fredericksburg, for public intoxication at an inn on Warrenton Road and Christopher Beckner Jr., 29, of Fredericksburg, for disorderly conduct and obstruction after a disturbance at the Stafford County Courthouse. Manassas City police asked the public for help locating Joseph Levi Petracca, 27, last seen in the Manassas area Sept. 21.

Prince William County police said a 24-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint Sept. 20 in the 10600 block of Davidson Place near Manassas after a man in a grey sedan brandished a firearm and took the victim’s backpack.

The same report said two men were assaulted and robbed Sept. 19 in the 8400 block of Sudley Road near Manassas by three people who fled on foot. Medics treated the victims on scene.

Prince William County police said a 21-year-old Manassas Park man died Sept. 17 after a crash on Hansen Farm Road in Bristow. Officers identified the driver as Sayed Mohammad Hamed Shams and said he crossed double yellow lines while trying to pass a vehicle turning onto Wellingford Road, lost control and struck a parked, unoccupied tractor-trailer. Speed is believed to be a factor.

The same day’s county report said detectives arrested Edgar Jose Mendoza, 34, of Manassas, on a rape charge after investigating a March 15 sexual assault on Breeden Hall Court in Bristow involving a victim who was 16 at the time.

Fredericksburg police said they arrested Jose Caal Choc, 38, of Fredericksburg, after a Sept. 16 morning assault on Ivanhoe Court. Officers said a woman was taken to a hospital in serious condition. Detectives charged Caal Choc with aggravated malicious wounding, abduction, entering a dwelling at night to commit assault, destruction of property and domestic assault and battery. He was held without bond at Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Prince William County police are seeking a suspect after a Sept. 14 aggravated assault at Almita’s Restaurant in Woodbridge, in which officers said a 30-year-old man was struck with a belt buckle and taken to a hospital. The same county report listed an indecent-exposure complaint in Gainesville and an attempted residential burglary in Nokesville.

Prince William County police arrested a 27-year-old Manassas man after a strong-armed robbery report at a Home Depot near Manassas on the night of Sept. 15. Officers said the man took a leaf blower, threatened employees and was detained in the parking lot; they also recovered pliers and shoes reported stolen. The same day’s county report charged a 15-year-old Woodbridge boy with reckless handling of a firearm after a gun discharged at a Woodbridge apartment complex and struck two nearby units.

Stafford County deputies reported a late-night traffic stop on Richmond Highway that led to two narcotics arrests, plus an altered-check fraud complaint.

Prince William County police announced an additional arrest in a June homicide near Manassas, charging a 16-year-old with second-degree murder and a related firearm offense. In Woodbridge, officers arrested a 32-year-old woman after she allegedly brandished a firearm and fired a shot that struck a vehicle during an early-morning altercation. A separate shots-fired call later the same day left a vehicle damaged but no injuries. Stafford County deputies reported a DUI arrest involving narcotics, a shoplifting case and several fraud complaints from Sept. 14.

The murder investigation continues and does not appear to be random. The Woodbridge firearm cases remain under investigation where suspects are not yet identified.

Prince William County detectives on Sept. 14 arrested a 16-year-old male juvenile of Manassas on second-degree murder and firearm charges in the June 25 shooting death of Michael Sakyi Jr., 18, of Bristow, in the 7900 block of Community Drive near Manassas. Also today: Prince William police arrested a Manassas man on an aggravated malicious wounding charge after a family member was stabbed multiple times early Sept. 12 near Manassas; in Spotsylvania County, a traffic stop led to a DUI arrest and recovery of a stolen firearm from a convicted felon; Stafford County deputies reported several DUI arrests, warrant services and fraud complaints.

A death investigation in Woodbridge preliminarily showed no signs of foul play. Additional Prince William cases included a juvenile stabbed by three unknown men, an aggravated assault with a glass bottle, and an indecent exposure report.