Suspect in Alexandria Police Shooting Has Long History of Traffic Violations, Other Charges

The Woodbridge taxi driver charged with shooting an Alexandria police officer in the head Wednesday is no stranger to law enforcement.

Several Northern Virginia jurisdictions list charges against Kashif Bashir over the past few years — with many of those charges coming at the end of traffic stops similar to the one that ended so violently Wednesday.

Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy was shot at the corner of S. St. Asaph and Wilkes streets, just outside a school playground and a few blocks from the bustle of King Street in Old Town. Police arrested Bashir after he crashed his taxi in Fairfax County, ending a police chase that started moments after the shooting.

Bashir, 27, an Alexandria Yellow Cab driver, is charged with malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer and the use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He is being held without bond, and his preliminary court date is in April. Laboy is still in critical condition.

Neighbors in Bashir's Woodbridge community watched Wednesday night as police searched the home he shares with his family. Officers also talked to neighbors as part of the investigation.

On some of the California Street homes, the paint or house numbers were faded. Some of the stormdoor frames were warped and one house door had a pair of pliers instead of a doorknob. 

Neighbors who spoke with Patch said they didn't interact with Bashir much beyond an occasional wave and greeting in passing, but said he regularly parked his taxicab outside the small house. The vehicle was totaled the crash.

One neighbor said that police responded to Bashir's address last year when a gun was allegedly fired illegally, but that Bashir was not involved in the incident.

Bashir had his own problems with police. He has been convicted on 17 charges in Fairfax County, including a 2011 charge for tampering with a vehicle and several traffic violations. Bashir was convicted of speeding three times in the past decade, along with failure to obey a traffic signal in four instances, including an offense earlier this year.

Other charges against Bashir have been dismissed in recent years, including a violation for good behavior on a misdemeanor offense and illegal sale of unapproved equipment. A charge of misdemeanor assault in 2011 was not prosecuted, according to Fairfax County Court records.

At Bashir's home on California Street, three generations reportedly live in the house, including Bashir, his parents, and his parents' grandchildren. A woman in the house told Woodbridge Patch that Bashir did live there, but declined to say anything further. 

Neighbors estimated that the family had lived in the house for a few years. One neighbor said his wife knew and liked Bashir's father, but that neither of them knew Bashir himself.

Patch editors Mary Stachyra and Rachel Leonard contributed to this report.

Charges

Alexandria Convictions: 

• Failure to obey a traffic signal, 2007

Alexandria Dismissed:

• Inspection violation
• Speeding, 2009
• Failure to pay attention, 2012
• Failure to obey a highway sign, 2012

Fairfax County Convictions:

• Tampering with a vehicle, 2011
• Speeding in a school zone, 2004
• Safety belt violation, 2004
• Failure to obey a highway sign, 2005
• Failure to yield right-of-way, 2005
• Safety belt violation, 2005
• Tinted or smoked windshield, 2005
• Failure to obey a highway sign, 2006
• Three counts of tinted or smoked windshield, 2006
• Improperly mounted license plate, 2006
• Operating an uninspected vehicle, 2006
• Defective equipment, 2006
• Speeding, 2007
• Failure to wear seat belt, 2007
• Failure to pay full time and attention, 2010
• Speeding, 2011
• Failure to obey a traffic signal, 2013

Fairfax County Dismissed: 

• Violation of good behavior on a misdemeanor offense
• Improper exhaust system
• Tinted or smoked windshield
• Illegal sale of unapproved equipment

Fairfax County Not Prosecuted:

• Misdemeanor assault