Police in Fairfax County said they are looking for a man who assaulted family members, carjacked a vehicle at knifepoint, kidnapped the driver and led officers in a chase throughout the D.C. area this weekend.
Herndon police said Crisitian Vasquez Alvarenga, 25, remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous. He is wanted in connection with an in-home attack at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1000 block of Knight Lane.
Mr. Alvarenga showed up at a relative’s home that night and began wrecking the place, authorities said. He assaulted family members, brandished a knife to force one victim into their car and stole the vehicle.
Police pursued the suspect from Virginia into the District and eventually into Prince George’s County. The suspect bailed out of the vehicle in Oxon Hill and left the victim unharmed, authorities said.
Mr. Alvarenga faces charges including robbery, assault, carjacking, abduction, reckless driving, driving without a license and preventing someone from calling 911.
“We’re very familiar with Cristian Alvarenga, as it goes with Herndon Police Department, somebody that has a long history with us and charges,” Herndon police spokesman Ian Biggs told WTTG-TV.
Virginia judiciary records show Mr. Alvarenga has been cited for traffic violations and arrested several times for criminal offenses, but he has only one misdemeanor assault conviction on his record — an October 2021 assault in Herndon.
Mr. Alvarenga pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault the following February and was sentenced to 179 days in jail, but 119 of those days were suspended.
Mr. Alvarenga was also charged with participating in gang-related activity and pointing a firearm at someone during that same incident five years ago. Court records show that prosecutors later dropped those charges.
In August 2024, police charged Mr. Alvarenga with assaulting a family member and pointing a gun at someone. The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office dropped that case and the protective order violation that the suspect had triggered.
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