A 33-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after police say he robbed a West End Safeway with an airsoft gun made to look like a Glock 17, then struck a Fairfax County Giant grocery store the very next day. Kareem Taylor now faces court dates in two separate jurisdictions as prosecutors in Alexandria and Fairfax County sort out how to handle the back-to-back stickups.
According to ALXnow, Taylor was identified by Alexandria police as the suspect who allegedly brandished the firearm replica during the Sept. 20 robbery at the Safeway located at 299 S. Van Dorn Street. Per the Alexandria Police Department affidavit, two men entered the store and waited at the customer service counter before one of them displayed what looked like a firearm and assaulted the store manager. The suspect stole a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of beer, and when the assistant manager tried to call 911, the man reportedly interrupted the call, tossed the pack of Newports back across the counter, and threatened to shoot the manager before the two suspects fled in a black Ford Escape.
Taylor was later identified as the suspect who had displayed the airsoft replica, APD said, and he was recorded leaving the scene with an accomplice who has not been identified. The next day, Sept. 21, Taylor allegedly robbed a Giant grocery store in Fairfax County, where he was ultimately stopped by officers while driving the same black Ford Escape and found in possession of a black airsoft gun modeled after a Glock 17, according to the affidavit.
Charges Split Across Two Courts
Taylor was charged in Alexandria with robbery with threat of force, and in Fairfax County with attempted robbery using force and being drunk in public, per the affidavit cited by Patch. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 13 and a separate Fairfax County court appearance set for Dec. 21, with court dates set in both jurisdictions…