Fairfax County police emails warned about stabbing suspect in woman’s death

Fairfax County police had been sounding the alarm for months about Abdul Jalloh — the suspect in a fatal bus stop stabbing — pressing the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s
Office to find a way to get him locked up.

Before Jalloh was charged with fatally stabbing Stephanie Minter, he had been arrested more than 30 times, serving a short time in jail after stabbing a man in 2023. But when Jalloh was released police say he continued his violent ways, accused in yet another stabbing.

News4 has obtained a series of emails from 2025 in which Fairfax County police commanders at the Mt. Vernon station began pressing the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to find ways to keep Jalloh behind bars. But a spokeswoman says few of the cases could be taken to trial because witnesses didn’t show up.

After Jalloh violated probation last year, instead of serving the rest of a 5-year suspended sentence, he was released, triggering this warning to officers:

“Abdul Jalloh was released from the ADC this evening after serving his sentence for probation violation. Please use caution if you come in contact with him.”

The next day, the Mt. Vernon wrote in an email to to the chief deputy commonwealth’s
Attorney, “[Jalloh] has an extensive criminal history. His behavior seems to be escalating and becoming more violent and explosive. […] I am concerned that it is not a matter of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again.”

Jalloh’s case has also put a spotlight on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As News4 reported earlier this week, ICE says Jalloh has been in the country unlawfully since 2012. The agency got a final order of removal in 2020.

Virginia Republicans are blaming Fairfax County authorities, accusing them of failing to honor detainers and alert ICE. They are also critical of Gov. Abigail Spanberger for her executive order that ends agreements for state agencies to assist ICE.

“He stayed because Fairfax has a documented history of refusing to honor immigration detainers because charges were repeatedly dropped, because a system designed to protect people like Stephanie Minter was systemally dismantled by policies that prioritize political ideology over public safety,” said District 7 State Sen. Bill Stanley.

But Fairfax County Jail officials told News4 ICE never lodged a detainer or came to pick Jalloh the nine times he was jailed between 2020 and 2025.

“There is a woman who is dead because ICE did not take action, and apparently they expect local law or state enforcement to do their jobs for them,” Spanberger told News4. “[…] There were so many opportunities for them to take him, detain him and remove him.”

News4 has sent repeated emails to ICE asking why they didn’t deport Jalloh but has not heard back.

News4 has been in touch with Minter’s family. Her mother says they too have many questions about why Jalloh was not behind bars. They are asking that people continue to “say her name”
with the hope that it will bring changes.