NEWS BRIEFS
Midlothian man nabbed in Fairfax for online activities

A Midlothian man was arrested earlier this month by Fairfax County police after he made sexual comments and arranged a meeting with an undercover officer posing online as a teenager.

According to reports, 42-year-old Hazem Sahli is accused of using a computer to solicit sex on the Internet from someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl living in Fairfax.

County logs first murder of 2008

A county man is accused of shooting and killing his daughter's ex-boyfriend. According to police, Joseph Wayne Garrard, 38, of the 4700 block of Junilla Lane was arrested on Jan. 13 in connection with the shooting death of Derek Stringfellow Best, 19, of the 10000 block of Clearpoint Drive. Best had been dating Garrand's daughter, and was reportedly attempting to retrieve items from her when the shooting took place.

County police responded to Junilla Lane in the Glen Wood subdivision for a report of a man shot in the chest around 4:30 a.m. Once emergency personnel arrived, Best was transported to CJW Medical Center's Chippenham campus where he was pronounced dead.

Police say a domestic situation led to an argument between Garrard and Best, leading to the shooting.

Garrard has been charged with second degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In 1990, he was previously found guilty in Chesterfield court of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He served one year in jail for the crime. The previous year, he was charged with the same crime, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor, and he received a suspended sentence.

Garrard is being held in county jail pending a Feb. 8 court appearance.

This was the county's first homicide of the year.

Man arrested for accosting woman

A 19-year-old Petersburg man has been arrested for allegedly trying to accost a woman in the Breckenridge Shopping Center at 5:20 p.m. on Jan. 15. Jason D. Roach, 19, of the 4000 block of Lee Drive in Petersburg, is charged with attempted abduction and motor vehicle theft.

Police said the victim noticed a man sitting in an idling 1980s Chevy Blazer next to her parked vehicle. When the victim attempted to get into her vehicle, the suspect approached her and grabbed her arm. The victim screamed, pulled away, got into her vehicle and honked her horn. The suspect got back into the Blazer and fled the area. The Blazer Roach was allegedly driving had been stolen from a parking lot across the street.

Roach is being held without bond in the county jail pending an upcoming hearing in General District Court.

Fatal crash on Chalkley Road

A county man was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Chalkley Road on Jan. 10.

According to police, Ronald L. Leftwich, 52, of the 9400 block of Lockberry Ridge Loop, was traveling south in the 11200 block of Chalkley Road shortly before 8 p.m. in a 2003 Ford Ranger when he veered off the roadway and struck several trees.