A 32-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond at the Arlington County jail after police say he threw bricks at an occupied home in the Green Valley neighborhood, causing damage, then sped off in his car and eluded officers who tried to pull him over. Arlington County Police identified the suspect as Benito Loayes Augustin following an investigation into the incident, which unfolded on S. Lowell Street last Saturday night.
According to ARLnow, officers responded to the 1900 block of S. Lowell Street at approximately 10:37 p.m. after a report that a man had thrown bricks at a woman's occupied home. Responding officers spotted the suspect outside the residence, but he got into his vehicle and fled before they could make contact, police said. Investigators later identified him during their inquiry into the case, which the department's crime report logged as case 2026-09120249.
Officers attempted a traffic stop near S. Kenmore Street and 24th Street S., but the driver eluded them, according to police. Warrants were then obtained for the suspect, and he was arrested the following day.
Charges Reflect Virginia's Missile and Property Crime Statutes
Augustin now faces charges of missile into an occupied dwelling, destruction of property, and eluding, per Arlington County Police. Under Virginia Code § 18.2-279, maliciously throwing a missile at or against an occupied dwelling is a Class 4 felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000; the statute treats non-malicious but unlawful throwing as a lesser Class 6 felony carrying one to five years.
The eluding charge falls under Virginia Code § 46.2-817, which classifies fleeing police in a vehicle as a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, but elevates the offense to a Class 6 felony carrying up to five years if the driving endangers a person or a police vehicle. Destruction of property charges in Virginia hinge on the dollar value of the damage: under state law, intentional property destruction is a Class 1 misdemeanor if damage totals under $1,000, but becomes a Class 6 felony carrying one to five years in prison once damage reaches or exceeds that threshold.
A Neighborhood With a Complicated Recent History
The 1900 block of S. Lowell Street has seen serious trouble before. The same block was the scene of a fatal domestic-related shooting on April 23, 2020, in which 45-year-old Marshall Stephens Jr. was killed inside a vehicle; his father was later convicted of first-degree murder in January 2022, as ARLnow reported at the time. Police also investigated a residential burglary on the same block, according to an Arlington County Police daily crime report.
Green Valley itself carries deep historical weight in Arlington. Historically known as Nauck, it is the county's oldest historically Black neighborhood, established in the 1840s by free African Americans before the Civil War and expanded after the closure of Freedman's Village, according to The Washington Post. The community is also known as Green Valley, the paper noted.
Case Involves Property Damage in Arlington
The brick-throwing incident involved property damage in Arlington.
The incident also involves a residence. Police have noted the suspect in this case was acquainted with the victim residing at the home.
Augustin is being held without bond at the county jail in Courthouse, pending further proceedings.
