The man accused of firing shots at the Pentagon and other military facilities tried to dig his way out of jail, officials said.
Yonathan Melaku, 22, of Alexandria, was charged with damaging his jail cell in an apparent escape attempt after jail officials in Loudoun County noticed damage to a cinderblock wall Friday. Melaku, a Marine reservist, is charged with damaging 27 vehicles in the Leesburg area and taking items from them in the early-morning hours of May 26.
He was charged in June in a series of five overnight shootings at military facilities in Northern Virginia. The federal case has been put on hold until the Loudoun case is resolved.
