This week, a man is accused of threatening to blow up a woman’s home, and a James City County restaurant reported a break-in
Check out all the crime stories that did not make the headlines this week and others you may have missed below.
James City County
Police: Man Threatens to Blow Up House Over Cigarette
A man is facing a felony charge after admitting he threatened to blow up a home if he did not get a cigarette.
Officers received a call from a 45-year-old woman at around 1:30 a.m. Feb. 15 and were told Eric Christian Villanueva, a 20-year-old James City County man, had threatened to blow up her home on Mobile Lane if the woman did not give him a cigarette.
Stephanie Williams with the James City County Police Department said Villanueva had locked himself in his bedroom and was attempting to make his own cigarettes with other cigarette butts.
The 45-year-old woman said she smelled smoke coming from Villaneuva’s room and asked her boyfriend to force the door open, Williams said. The two discovered several burned pieces of paper in the room.
Williams said Villaneuva told the woman “if he did not get him a cigarette, he was going to blow up the house.”
Villaneuva later admitted to officers he told the woman he would blow up the house, Williams said. He was charged with a felony count of threats to burn.
Several Cars Broken into in James City County
Investigators are looking into two separate reports of vehicle break-ins in James City County.
On Feb. 13, police were told someone had smashed the windows of a Jeep and GMC that was parked in the 4100 block of Ironbound Road.
Police said the Jeep’s driver’s side front window was smashed and a gym bag was missing. The GMC’s passenger front window was smashed and a purse was missing.
The purse and the gym bag were later found in a ditch, with everything but a wallet — which contained identification, credit cards and $100 cash — accounted for.
Two days later, officers received a call from a woman living in the Greensprings West subdivision who said the windshield and rear driver’s side window of her son’s car were broken and it appeared the car had been rummaged through.
The woman also noticed her truck’s passenger side door — which had been parked in the garage — was unlocked and the center console was open.
Nothing was taken from either of the cars, police said.
Nazar Mediterranean Restaurant Broken Into
James City County Police say about $150 was taken from a Jamestown Road restaurant Wednesday.
Officers responding to Nazar Mediterranean Restaurant Wednesday were told a wooden door on the west side of the building had been forced open with the door frame and door lock damaged.
A police report states about $150 in cash was taken from the register and from a draw in the restaurant’s office.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
York County
Deputies Search for Suspected Car Thief
York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office investigators are asking the public for help in identifying a man they believe stole vehicles in Lower York County.
A post on YPSO’s Facebook page said the suspect entered a bank in Newport News and attempted to conduct a transaction with a check taken from one of the stolen cars.
The vehicle thefts have been going on since Jan. 30, the post said.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office Facebook Tip Line at 757-890-4999 or Crime Line at 888-LOCK-U-UP.
In Case You Missed It:
- Police say a Walmart Distribution Center employee stole a coworker’s car after getting fired and crashed it into a tree.
- Two people have been arrested after being accused of stealing more than $1,000 of electronics from Walmart.
- A man facing a robbery charge in the shooting death of Dylan Peters received additional charges for a separate York County robbery.
- A fourth man was arrested in connection with the James City County murder-for-hire case.
