Police arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a series of larcenies in York County after they allegedly found a semi-automatic firearm, marijuana, Xanax bars and “possible” Psilocybin mushrooms in a vehicle he was in, according to documents.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office arrested Yorktown resident Ryan McGinley on Sept. 22 after seeing him in a vehicle parked in a closed Wendy’s parking lot, according to a Sept. 25 search warrant obtained by WYDaily.
A deputy with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office observed a Honda Civic and a Honda Odyssey parked next to each other in the parking lot on George Washington Memorial Highway in the “early morning hours” of Sept. 22, according to the warrant.
The Wendy’s was not open at the time and the deputy made contact with the two occupants of the Hondas. The deputy detected the odor of marijuana coming from one of the vehicles, the warrant states.
A second person was also at the scene, but they are a juvenile and no charges were filed against them, according to York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shelley Ward.
After allegedly smelling marijuana, the deputy searched the Honda Civic and located individually packaged marijuana, possible Psilocybin mushrooms, Xanax bars, scales, a semi-automatic firearm and roughly $1,600 in cash.
As the events in the Wendy’s parking lot unfolded, other deputies located parked vehicles in nearby neighborhoods that appeared to have been tampered with. Police also began receiving calls reporting larcenies from the neighborhoods, the warrant states.
McGinley allowed the deputy to look in the back hatch of the Odyssey, where he saw electronics partially concealed underneath the rear seat and a television behind the seat. McGinley then “terminated” the search.
The Honda Civic was then seized, pending the issuance of a search warrant, due to the “extensive amount” of drugs, paraphernalia, and property that appeared to be linked to the several vehicle larcenies in the neighborhood, according to the warrant.
“Through my training and experience I have found that it is very common, and appears to be the standard Modus Operandi, for suspects to use multiple cars during the commission of vehicle larcenies in order to conceal items stolen and have a separation from themselves and evidence of a crime,” Deputy Huptich wrote in the search warrant.
Huptich also said the presence of drugs, paraphernalia, cash and the firearm link McGinley to the several crimes throughout York County and surrounding jurisdictions.
Online court records indicate McGinley had been charged with several similar offenses prior to the Sept. 22 incident.
Court records indicate McGinley has 14 charges — including grand larceny, armed burglary, destruction of property with intent, and larceny/obtaining a credit card number — stemming from alleged offenses in May in York County. McGinley also has 14 charges — including both manufacture and possession of a controlled substance — against him from alleged offenses in August.
Williamsburg-James City County General District Court online records indicate McGinley is also charged with three counts of burglary and three counts of grand larceny from August, which stem from alleged incidents in James City County.
Search warrants on both Hondas were executed and several pieces of confirmed stolen property were recovered. Police have linked the items to automobile larcenies and home burglaries, the warrants state.
Items recovered from the two vehicles include jewelry, a ring, iPods and an iPad, cell phones, flashlights, credit cards, speakers, mail, a pellet gun, a purse, and a bag of personal effects.
In connection with the Sept. 22 incident, McGinley is charged with eight charges of credit card theft, two counts of possession with intent to distribute — one for marijuana and one for mushrooms — and one count each of burglary, grand larceny, possession of a firearm while is possession of narcotics, and one count of possession of a controlled substance, according to Ward. Additional charges may be pending.
McGinley is currently in custody according to online court records.
Court records indicate McGinley is scheduled to reappear in the York-Poquoson General District Court Oct. 10. He is scheduled to appear in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court on Nov. 9.
