ARLINGTON, Va. — A 23-year-old Maryland man faces multiple felony charges in connection with a midday carjacking in Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood last month, according to the Arlington County Police Department.
Police identified the suspect as Tyler Abrahim Afsar of Hyattsville, Maryland. He has been charged with armed carjacking, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and grand larceny auto.
Afsar is currently being held in Washington, D.C., police said.
The case began shortly before 1 p.m. July 14, when Arlington officers were called to the 4100 block of 18th Street N. for a reported robbery.
Investigators said an adult woman was sitting inside her parked vehicle when a man pulled up in a pickup truck, got out and approached her driver’s-side window. Police allege the man displayed a firearm and demanded her vehicle before taking items from her purse.
The woman got out of the vehicle, and the man drove away in it, according to police. She was not injured.
Officers searched the surrounding Cherrydale area but did not locate the suspect at the time.
Investigators later determined that the pickup truck used to approach the victim had been reported stolen in Prince George’s County, Maryland, police said.
The case crossed several jurisdictional lines later that same day.
Law enforcement officers spotted the Arlington victim’s stolen vehicle in Prince George’s County that evening. With assistance from the Prince George’s County Police Department and U.S. Park Police, authorities pursued the vehicle before it crashed in Washington, D.C., according to Arlington police.
Afsar, whom police described as the driver and only occupant, was taken into custody by U.S. Park Police. Authorities also recovered a firearm from the vehicle, according to police.
Arlington detectives continued investigating and said they developed evidence linking Afsar to the Cherrydale carjacking. They obtained arrest warrants Aug. 5.
The charges are allegations, and Afsar is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Arlington County Police Detective J. Cox at 703-228-0491.