UPDATE: Suspect who Fired Shots at Officer Charged with Attempted Capital Murder

Brian Neftali Landaverde

Earlier today the suspect involved in the shooting at the officer’s marked cruiser on January 22, was charged by our Major Crimes detectives. Brian Neftali Landaverde, 21, of Herndon, was charged with attempted capital murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Our detectives worked tirelessly to put together the sequence of events that led to the identification and arrest of the suspect.

Landaverde was incarcerated at the Adult Detention Center on unrelated charges from the Town of Herndon Police Department. A Herndon detective contacted our Major Crimes detectives and provided them information that ultimately led to our charges against Landaverde. During our detective’s investigation, it was determined that there were a total of three people in the suspect’s car just prior to the shooting on Rossmore Court; Landaverde and two juveniles, identified as 17 and 16 years old. One of the juveniles bailed out of the car prior to the shooting. The location of the suspect’s car is still unknown.

Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Chief of Police, will give more details at the news conference at 3 p.m. in the press room of the Fairfax County Government Center, located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.

The news conference will be livestreamed on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/fairfaxcountypolice/videos

 

(Original Release 1/23/17):

Reston Police District – Detectives this morning are investigating an incident in which one of our officers was shot at while on duty in his marked cruiser. The cruiser was struck several times by gunfire. Fortunately, the officer was not injured.

Preliminarily our investigation reveals that just before midnight last night, the officer had attempted a traffic stop on Georgetown Pike near Rossmore Court in the Great Falls area. The suspect’s car stopped a short distance away in the 600 block of Rossmore Court. A passenger jumped out of the car and ran. The driver of the car then sped away from the cruiser, making a U-turn in the cul-de-sac, then traveled back towards the officer and opened fire, striking the cruiser at least twice. . The officer attempted to pursue the shooter’s car, but lost sight of it while driving westbound on Georgetown Pike.

Our Major Crimes Division and Crime Scene Detectives responded to process the scene, and several other law enforcement partners helped to try and track the suspect’s car, to no avail. The car was described as an older model four-door sedan, possibly late 90s to early 2000s, white with black rubber molding around the door frames. The windshield might show significant damage from the gunshots that were fired from within the car.

Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. stated in a department-wide message today, “I am grateful that our officer went home safe last night… Their actions are not only dangerous and deadly to law enforcement but they are a threat to the entire community.”

We are asking anyone with information to contact us by calling 703-691-2131 or Detective C. Guyton at 703-856-8547. You can also be eligible for a cash reward up to $1,000 if you contact Crime Solvers electronically by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637). Tipsters remain anonymous.

Please follow @fairfaxpolice on Twitter and through our blog, http://www.fcpdnews.wordpress.com, for the latest information.