Local law enforcement has been busy this week chasing down alleged shoplifters in the final days before Christmas. Police in James City County also made a pair of arrests in a brawl that occurred in November at a house on Ironbound Road.
James City County
Two More Charged in James City County Brawl
Police already arrested one man for a Nov. 22 brawl that hospitalized a man. Now they have arrested the man who was sent to the hospital and a woman also involved in the incident.
Maj. Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department said officers responded to a reported fight in progress at a residence on the 4300 block of Ironbound Road just after 9 p.m. Nov. 22. When they arrived, they found 49-year-old Michael Anthony Robertson bleeding from the head. Police believe Robertson attempted to solicit or had solicited sex from a 44-year-old woman and a 27-year-old woman.
The women refused. One of them went to Robertson’s house to tell his wife about the solicitation. Rubino said Robertson then went to his house and began yelling at the woman. The woman’s brother, 47-year-old Rodney Alexander White, told Robertson to stop yelling, according to police. Robertson is then alleged to have smashed a glass bottle of alcohol over White’s head.
White and his 69-year-old mother then began yelling at Robertson, Rubino said. Robertson is believed to have grabbed the 69-year-old by the neck and forced her to the ground, where he choked her. Numerous people then forced Robertson off the woman and began to beat him.
Robertson had to be taken to the emergency room for treatment, while White was treated by medics on scene.
White was charged with assault and battery in November. Robertson was arrested on Monday and charged with felony malicious wounding, felony strangulation, two charges of assault and battery, two solicitation charges and one charge of drunk in public. Police also arrested 27-year-old Kiesha Cherrie Canady and charged her with assault and battery.
Rubino said there’s an outstanding warrant for one more person from the incident who has yet to be arrested.
Woman Arrested at VPRJ With Drugs
A woman reporting to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail to serve some of her sentence on the weekend of Dec. 11 was found with drugs as she tried to enter the jail.
Rubino said 44-year-old Colleen Annette Martin was being processed by corrections officers at VPRJ on Dec. 11. Drugs — in a rubber glove containing numerous prescription medications — were found in her genitals during a strip search, Rubino said.
Martin has been charged with possession of a chemical compound by a prisoner and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Woman Accused of Embezzling About $2,500 From Sprint Store
The manager of a Sprint Cellular Store on Monticello Avenue has been charged with two felony counts of embezzlement after she allegedly embezzled about $2,500 from night deposit bags from her store.
Rubino said 34-year-old Karen Lynn Zengler is believed to have taken the night deposits Aug. 1 and Aug. 2. The regional manager for the store reported the missing money to police who then investigated.
No money has yet been recovered.
Man Charged with Trying to Steal More Than $3,000 in Clothing from Belk
A man was arrested after he allegedly tried to put more than $3,000 in men’s clothing in a bag and then leave the Belk Store in WindsorMeade Marketplace on Nov. 26.
Rubino said 31-year-old Lavar Anthony Oneal was arrested in Fairfax County on a felony concealment charge from the incident. As Oneal attempted to leave the store, he was confronted by a store employee. He then left the bag behind as he left the store.
During the investigation, police are investigating to determine if he is connected to a number of other shopliftings throughout Virginia. Rubino said other places where shopliftings may have occurred include Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Henrico County and Newport News.
Rubino said it’s unclear how much clothing Oneal is believed to have attempted to steal.
York County
Two Men Arrested for Stealing Thousands in Clothing From Dick’s Sporting Goods
Two men are accused of stealing more than $3,281 in North Face apparel on Dec. 17 from the Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Marquis at Williamsburg in Upper York County.
An arrest report on the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office Facebook page said three men were seen in the Dick’s Sporting Goods stealing the apparel. They were observed leaving in a silver Nissan XTerra. The suspects are also alleged to have committed a larceny in another jurisdiction, where a license plate number was observed.
The license plate number led YPSO investigators to a vehicle rental company. They conducted surveillance on the business, later detaining three people there. Multiple bags of clothing were found in the vehicle, most of which contained security tags. Among the items were recovered were those from the Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Deputies arrested two of the men. Marquan Tavelle Hoskins, a 22-year-old Hampton man, and Antonio Leon Kelly, a 21-year-old Newport News man, were both charged with felony shoplifting and possession of burglary tools.
YPSO Serves Warrants in Mail Theft Spree
An investigator with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office served warrants in connection with a string of mail thefts from September and October to a man and woman already sitting in jail for the same crime in other jurisdictions.
Newport News residents Thomas Holt and Julie Rock, both 35, have been connected with 20 separate incidents of stealing mail — most often checks — in York County and Poquoson, as well as several more incidents in Newport News and Hampton.
The Newport News Police Department arrested Holt and Rock in mid-October. The two suspects are being held with no bond in the Newport News City Jail, where YPSO served warrants to them Dec. 11.
YPSO worked with law enforcement from both Newport News and Hampton in the investigation. The duo also has several charges pending against them from those jurisdictions.
YPSO said there does not appear to be a connection between this string of mail thefts and the one that began toward the end of November.
Man Reports Armed Robbery in Lackey
Deputies responded to the 400 block of Maple Avenue in Lackey for a report of an armed robbery around 10 p.m. Dec. 13.
That night, the victim and several of his friends were visiting with one another in a detached garage. At one point the victim stepped away to use his cell phone when he was approached by a man who pointed a handgun at him and demanded money, according to the police report.
The victim handed over his wallet, which contained some cash and a few credit cards, and the suspect fled the scene. The suspect is described as an older black male.
In Case You Missed It
- A federal judge has ruled John W. Hinckley Jr. — who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 shooting of President Ronald Reagan and three others — can have more time with his mother each month at her James City County home.
- Three men accused of breaking into a building at BASF Chemicals on Pocahontas Trail earlier this year had their felony charges reduced to misdemeanors.
- A jury recommended 33 years in jail for a man convicted of raping a Busch Gardens worker in the City of Williamsburg in 2001.
- The case of William E. Burks, who is accused in the murder of Devon Coates earlier this year, was certified to the York County Poquoson Circuit Court.
- Williamsburg Police are investigating the alleged rape of a College of William and Mary student offcampus.
- James City County Police said two fights broke out at the Lafayette-Jamestown boys basketball game Dec. 13.
- A man accused of selling a fatal dose of heroin to a man later found dead in a Williamsburg Motel 6 will face a jury in March.
