A clerk at an Exxon gas station on Richmond Highway in Alexandria was pepper-sprayed during a cigarette theft in which a suspect made off with multiple cartons of Newport cigarettes on August 22, then fled. No arrests have been made, and the case remains under investigation.
According to a search warrant affidavit reported by ALXnow, the suspect walked into the convenience store at the Exxon at 2320 Richmond Highway and, according to an employee report, first asked what time the store started serving food before pepper-spraying the clerk and grabbing multiple cartons of Newports off the shelf. The suspect then fled the scene in a black sedan.
Alexandria Police Department investigators later located the black sedan parked in Southeast D.C., where they also found cartons of Newport cigarettes inside the vehicle, the same report notes. The discovery highlights that the investigation extended across jurisdictional lines.
Why Virginia Cigarettes Are a Target for Cross-Border Theft
The choice of target — cartons of Newports specifically — involved cigarettes sold in Virginia. Virginia's state cigarette excise tax sits at just $0.60 per pack, or $6.00 per carton, as of September 2026, according to the Tax Foundation. Washington, D.C.'s tax is $5.07 per pack, or $50.70 per carton. The Tax Foundation discusses tax-driven cross-border trade and cigarette smuggling generally.
Virginia law also addresses large quantities of unstamped cigarettes under provisions tracked by the Virginia Department of Taxation. Under those provisions, possessing the greater of 30 packs or 5 percent of the cigarette inventory is prima facie evidence of intent to defraud; the source separately describes trafficking thresholds.
Potential Charges Facing the Suspect
Whoever committed the theft could face criminal charges once identified. The specific charges will depend on the facts and applicable law.
The use of pepper spray against the clerk could add to the suspect's potential criminal exposure. Any additional charges will depend on the facts and applicable law.
A Corridor With a History of Serious Crime
This is not the first violent incident at this particular Exxon. The gas station at 2320 Richmond Highway was the scene of a fatal shooting in 2022, an incident that ranked among Alexandria's top news stories that year, according to ALXnow's year-end reporting. The property operates as a combined service station, convenience store and food-service venue under a City of Alexandria Special Use Permit in the Potomac Yard development zone, according to city planning records. The suspect reportedly asked about food-service hours before the theft.
The Richmond Highway corridor remains the setting for this report, while Police Chief Tarrick McGuire, appointed in November 2024, has described his GREAT framework. The incident comes as citywide numbers have trended downward: Alexandria's 2025 Annual Report found that overall crime fell by approximately 30% year-over-year, according to the City of Alexandria.
The region has also seen prosecutions tied to gas station and convenience store robberies. In July, a Washington, D.C. federal jury convicted Shamell Naquan Joyner on 13 counts tied to a spree of ten gas station and convenience store robberies across D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia, including an April 2023 case in which an Alexandria store clerk was shot in the leg, according to the U.S. Department of Justice — a case Hoodline covered earlier this year.
No arrests have been made in the August 22 cigarette theft, and the investigation remains open.
