Suspect apprehended after early morning carjacking (updated)

May 9, 2017 Police and Fire

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Residents in the area of Telegraph Road near North Kings Highway woke up to a manhunt in their neighborhoods after an early-morning armed carjacking. 

Police, including K9 units and the Fairfax 1 helicopter, responded in large numbers and eventually arrested a man around 8:15 a.m. near the intersection of North Kings Highway and Fairhaven Avenue. 

The suspect was identified as John Holoman Russell, 23, of no fixed address. He is charged with carjacking, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, felony speed to elude, four counts of misdemeanor hit and run and driving on a suspended license.

According to a police spokesman, the incident unfolded shortly after 6 a.m. when man with a handgun forcibly removed a woman from a Nissan Rogue at intersection of East Drive and Telegraph Road, next to the BP gas station. The victim was not injured during the incident, according to police.

Russell mug shot

John Holomon Russell

A short time later police located the suspect driving the victim’s car in the 5900 block of Edgehill Drive and attempted to pull the vehicle over, the spokesman said. The driver bailed out of the Nissan — striking a tree and four vehicles — and fled on foot, triggering the manhunt in the Jefferson Manor and Wilton Woods neighborhoods. 

A little after 8 a.m. a person matching the suspect’s description was stopped by police near Fairhaven Avenue and North Kings Highway. He was identified as the suspect and taken into custody, the spokesman said. 

Mount Eagle Elementary and Cameron Elementary were put on “secure the building” status during the search, according to an FCPS spokesman. Mount Eagle is located a block away from where the suspect was eventually arrested.

The Browne Academy, a private school located on Telegraph Road not far from where the suspect ditched the victim’s car, was forced to open two hours late as police searched the school’s grounds. 

This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. as new information was released by police.