Gainesville Man Arrested for Hit & Run, Wounding of LEO

Posted

policecar630x290The Prince William Police arrested a Gainesville man, Monday, for attempting to hit an officer and a friend or relative with the victim's vehicle before driving away.

Police charged Delanyo Kwaku Appiah, 36, of Gainesville, with one count of attempted malicious wounding of a LEO, one count of attempted malicious wounding, one count of robbery, one count of unauthorized use of vehicle, one count of driving under the influence and two counts of felony hit & run.

Prince William County Police Officers responded to an apartment on Deming Drive in Gainesville, Oct. 24 just before 6 p.m., to investigate an initial report of a domestic dispute.

According to police, when the officers arrived, they first made contact with the victim, a 73-year-old man of Gainesville, who told them the accused pushed him, then took his car keys and left the residence.

Officers made contact with the accused who was sitting in the victim’s vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment complex.

“One of the officers opened the driver’s side door and asked the accused to exit the vehicle. At that point, the accused put the vehicle in reverse, striking the officer and pinning him between the vehicle door and a sign,” said police spokesperson, Sgt. Jonathon Perok.

The officer was eventually able to move away from the vehicle, at which point, the accused continued to drive in reverse and struck the initial victim.

The accused then proceeded to flee and exited the complex parking lot.

“A responding officer stopped the vehicle in the area of McGraws Corner where the accused was taken into custody after initially refusing to exit the vehicle,” Perok said.

While speaking to the accused, officers determined he was under the influence of alcohol.

The initial victim sustained a minor injury to his leg. The officer sustained minor injuries as well and received treatment at a local hospital.

Following the investigation, Delanyo Kwaku Appiah was arrested. Appiah's court date has been set for Dec. 15. He is being held without bond.

assault, crime, domestic-disturbance, drunk-driving, featured, gainesville, hit-run, leo, malicious-wounding, news, police, prince-william-county, report, robbery, virginia, wounding