Courts & Crime

morning at 102 South Whiting Street. Wednesday, around 12:00 A.M. police were called for the report of a shooting.

Sunday 12/28 at approximately 2:45 A.M., a 32-year-old Fairfax man was stabbed by a known suspect.

Gohar J. Mirza, age 29, of Annandale, Virginia, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison, followed by a term of three years supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $3,000,000 in restitution. Mirza pled guilty on September 23, 2008 to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme.

Benjamin Tyler Moser, age 27, formerly of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 46 months in prison for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Moser will also serve five years on supervised release after his prison term and be required to register as a sex offender.

Peter W. North, age 54, of Alexandria, Virginia was sentenced to 78 months in prison for receipt of child pornography. North will also serve a ten year period of supervised release after his prison term and be required to register as a sex offender.

On Dec. 20, Alexandria police will substantially increase enforcement of drunk driving laws with a mobile DUI detail. The DUI crackdown will begin at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, and will continue until 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

James R. Willden, age 38, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Since 1994, 81 people have been murdered in the city of Alexandria. All but 12 of those cases have been solved, a closure rate of 85 percent, one of the highest in the region. Last Saturday, friends and family members placed luminarias along Mt. Vernon Avenue to celebrate the holiday season and to remember Nancy Dunning, who was murdered in her Del Ray home five years ago. She has not been forgotten but what of the other 11 victims?

Since Nov. 10, there have been 29 vehicles broken into in this manner throughout the City. The majority of the activity has occurred in the West End, though a few destruction-of-property cases have occurred in Old Town. The top targeted vehicles are Jeep Wranglers, Chrysler Sebrings, and Mazda Miata MX5s.

Seven months after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, retiring congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY) was sentenced today to five days in prison in Alexandria’s General District Court. Before leaving the courthouse, Fossella’s legal team filed their appeal, initiating Virginia’s automatic retrial in the circuit court with a full jury.