A teenager was arrested for allegedly throwing a trash can at a counselor. A woman received an email that contained a message threatening to burn her apartment complex. A man is accused of stealing items from Marshalls. Read on for details on those incidents and more.
Williamsburg
Police: Teenager in After-School Program Throws Trash Can at Counselor
A 14-year-old boy was charged with simple assault after allegedly throwing a trash can at a counselor of an after-school program, police said.
Williamsburg Police officers responded to the 1100 block of Professional Drive off Route 199 around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, where they were told two juveniles participating in an after-school program engaged in a “verbal altercation,” Maj. Greg Riley said.
When the after-school program staff tried to separate the two juveniles, one of the juveniles picked up a garbage can to throw at the other juvenile, but the garbage can struck the counselor who was escorting the juvenile instead, Riley said.
The counselor was treated at the scene by medics for minor injuries, Riley said. Riley was unsure what material the garbage can was made of.
Petitions were requested and obtained Tuesday charging the juvenile with simple assault.
Woman Reports Receiving Threatening Email
Police are investigating after a woman reported Wednesday that she received an email that contained threats to burn her apartment building in the Merrimac Crossing Apartments on Merrimac Trail.
The email sender was unknown to the woman. Police are investigating to determine who sent the email.
York County Man Accused of Stealing from Monticello Avenue Marshalls
A 48-year-old man is accused of stealing more than $200 worth of items from Marshalls in Williamsburg.
York County resident Isaac McCoy Ashlock was an employee of the clothing store on Monticello Avenue, Riley said.
Police were contacted by management around 10:40 a.m. Sept. 20 and were told Ashlock had been seen taking items from the store. Riley could not say what items were taken.
Ashlock was arrested and transported to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, where he was charged with one felony count of grand larceny.
James City County
Judge Dismisses Attempted Percocet Robbery Case
A Williamsburg-James City County District Court Judge dismissed the case of a 52-year-old James City County woman accused of attempted robbery Tuesday.
Alma Strong was accused of going into a neighbor’s house in the 100 block of Williamson Drive in the Forest Glen subdivision with a staple gun and demanding Percocet, a prescription pain reliever.
District Court Judge Colleen K. Killilea heard from three witnesses during Strong’s preliminary hearing Tuesday.
The first witness said Strong entered her house while she was “fixing my container of pills” and asked if anyone had any Oxycodone, a pain reliever similar to Percocet.
The witness said she told Strong she did not have any Oxycodone, and Strong asked if she had any Percocet, to which she responded she did not have any Percocet.
The witness said Strong was holding a “Mickey Mouse thing” in her arms with “something tucked into the Mickey Mouse.”
Strong then started getting upset, the first witness said, explaining Strong said “Well I’m getting my gun then.” The witness said she then ran out of her home.
The officer who responded to the scene testified he had seen a towel with a staple gun wrapped inside it next to Strong when he initially interviewed her.
A third witness, who testified she was also inside the house when Strong came in asking for Percocet, said Strong did not demand anything but made a telephone call involving “something about her finding some pills.”
The witness said she was texting on her phone at the time and was not paying attention to the conversation between Strong and the first witness. She said she was the last one to leave the house, and that “it was insinuated not long after (Strong) got there that there may be a gun in a stuffed animal.”
Killilea dismissed the case after hearing from the third witness.
Man Reports Bank Account Hack
A man was notified by Home Depot that his bank account may have been hacked.
James City County Police officers responded to the 5300 block of Hillside Way on Sept. 20, where the victim told officers he examined his finances after being notified by the Home Depot his account may have been hacked.
The man told officers he discovered a check he had not written for $2,474 had been cashed.
Stephanie Williams-Ortery with the James City County Police department said it was unclear when the check was cashed.
“It didn’t have the normal markings like it would have from a bank,” she said.
She said there was an image of the check online, but the man still had the check in his checkbook.
Officers were able to provide copies of the check, which showed the check was fraudulent.
The investigation is ongoing.
Police Investigating Reports of Brandishing Firearm at TGI Fridays
Police are actively investigating a Sept. 18 incident in which a man was witnessed drawing a firearm and waving it around outside of the TGI Fridays on Richmond Road.
James City County officers who arrived at the restaurant Sept. 18 were told a group of customers had gotten into a verbal agreement, according to a police report. One of the men attempted to get into a “physical altercation,” but others restrained him, the report states.
The customers then left the restaurant, and as they were leaving, the same man who attempted to become physical earlier was seen waving around a silver pistol, according to the report. The man was then seen leaving the area in a red hatchback.
Nobody was hurt, Ortery-Williams said. It is unclear what the fight was about.
The investigation is ongoing, Ortery-Williams said. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 888-LOCK-U-UP.
Woman Reports IRS Scam
A woman told police Monday she was asked to take out nearly $7,000 after someone claiming to be from the IRS called her.
The caller told her she owed nearly $7,000 in back taxes and that if she did not pay, she would be arrested and her bank account would be frozen, according to Ortery-Williams.
The woman was told to withdraw money from the bank and call back after doing so, Ortery-Williams said. When the woman called back, she was told to go to a grocery store and purchase a voucher for $100.
At this point, the woman became suspicious and hung up, Ortery-Williams said. She turned to the bank and was informed this was a scam. She then redeposited the funds into her account.
Police Investigate Two Reports of Credit Card Fraud
Two reports of unauthorized credit card use were reported to James City County Police on Sept. 19.
A woman told police someone had used her credit card to make several unauthorized purchases at the Williamsburg Cigarette Outlet and the Olde Towne Shell gas station.
Total charges exceeded $1,600, Williams-Ortery said. The woman contacted her bank and closed the account.
During the investigation into the reported charges, police received a report from a different person alleging $160 was charged without permission from one of the same locations.
Both complainants live outside of the area and had their credits card in their possession. The investigation is ongoing.
York County
Deputies Investigate Theft of Smoker
A large BBQ smoker-griller was reported stolen from a business in the 1200 block of George Washington Memorial Highway on Tuesday.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office said in a post on its Facebook page the smoker was taken between Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.The smoker is described as “large, mounted on a trailer with a tow hitch, and is rust and black in color.”
YPSO is asking anyone with information to call the Sheriff’s Office at 757-890-4999.
YPSO: Catalytic Converter Stolen From Vehicle
YPSO deputies are investigating after they say one or multiple suspects cut off and stole a catalytic converter from a vehicle.
The vehicle was parked in the parking lot of the Williamsburg Ford dealership in the 700 block of East Rochambeau Drive, according to a post on the office’s Facebook page.
Deputies are asking anyone with information on this crime to call the crime line at 888-LOCK-U-UP or the Facebook hotline at 757-890-4999.
Two Men Accused of Tabb Vehicle Break-ins Face Grand Jury
Two men accused of stealing items from 13 vehicles overnight March 30 will head to a grand jury.
Newport News resident Nijel Dudley, 19, waived his preliminary hearing for a felony count of stolen property and a felony count of accessory stolen property. Three grand larceny charges, four petit larceny charges, nine destruction of property charges and six entering a vehicle in motion charges were dropped Wednesday.
Quashawn Byrd, 23, also of Newport News, waived his preliminary hearing on three grand larceny charges. Four entering a vehicle in motion charges, one destruction of property charge, one credit card fraud charge, one obtaining credit card by false pretenses charge and one attempted grand larceny charge were dropped Wednesday.
During the alleged vehicle break-ins several windows were found broken.
YPSO: Woman Forced to Purchase $500 Pre-Paid Debit Card
A woman reported Sept. 17 she was forced to withdraw $500 from her bank account and purchase a Green Dot card.
She reported a man showed up at her residence in the 200 block of Huntingdon Road and she let him inside, according to Lt. Dennis Ivey with YPSO. The man convinced her to go to the bank and obtain some cash, so she drove to the SunTrust bank located in the James-York Plaza Shopping Center on Merrimac Trail and withdrew the money, Ivey said.
She then drove with him to CVS Pharmacy, where she purchased a $500 Green Dot card with the money she obtained from the bank, Ivey said. She may also have driven him to other places before returning to her residence. The suspect left with the card after the two returned to the woman’s residence, Ivey said.
The suspect is also alleged to have taken the woman’s cell phone valued at $500. Ivey said she is believed to have been targeted for her age, which he described as older, and for her “intellectual disabilities.”
In Case You Missed It:
- YPSO is investigating a report of a man beaten with a gun during a drug deal.
- A York County man pleaded guilty to stealing from vehicles in Yorktown.
- A woman pleaded guilty to forging checks from an elderly patient.
- A James City County Man pleaded guilty to choking and headbutting a man at party in Grove.
- A man accused of breaking into a home in Williamsburg will face a grand jury.
- A man is accused of brandishing a stun gun near William and Mary.
- More vehicle break-ins in James City County have been reported.
- A York woman was sentenced to 15 years in jail for shooting her husband.
- A woman charged with homicide after deputies found a child left in her care had strangled to death is facing more felony child abuse charges.
