Crime & Safety

Burglar Thwarted by Retired Marine

Burglar gets more than he bargained for when trying to steal from occupied home on Herdon Street.

It's never a good day to rob a Marine, even a retired one.

That's a lesson which Stafford resident Robert Cline White learned the hard way yesterday when he tried to burglarize a residence on the 300 block Herndon Street. at abour 3:20 p.m. Unbeknownst to White, 25-year-old retired Marine John Delacey was upstairs watching football with his girlfriend and pet dogs.

Police say that White is also a suspect in a number of daytime robberies which have recently occurred in the city.

"He is a suspect, but has not yet been charged," said police spokesperson Natatia Bledsoe. "We're going to tie it up tight before we actually charge him with those."

White entered the house through a basement window which he pulled open. Once inside, he had enough time to grab a gun and some jewelry from Delacy's bedroom. But soon, the dogs inside started barking.

Delacy, who now works in a civilian role for the Marine Corps at Quantico, went downstairs to investigate and found White in his bedroom, rifling through dresser drawers. Delacty tackled White and forced him to the floor. The handgun which White had stolen fell out of his waistband and bounced on the floor. Meanwhile, the Delacy's girlfriend called 911.

With the gun on the floor and a struggle ensuing, the girlfriend was instructed by 911 operators to move the handgun out of reach.

Police arrived and were able to easily arrest White. The jewelry which White had grabbed was returned to the residents, but the investigation was not done yet.

Police also connected White to a burglary which had happened a half hour earlier on the 1200 block of Rappahannock Ave.

White was charged with two counts of burglary and grand larceny and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is behind bars at Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.

The investigation also led police to execute a search warrant at 115 Hillcrest Drive. Inside, police found heroin, marijuana and prescription narcotics.

"During the subsequent investigation of Mr. White, we received information that led to that address on Hillcrest Drive," said police spokesperson Natatia Bledsoe, who said that she was unable to disclose more specifics on account of the continuing investigation.

After that raid, police arrested 27-year-old Lauren Taflambas for possession of schedule I and II narcotics and 32-year-old Shaun Smith for misdemeanor marijuana distribution charges, felony possession of schedule I and II narcotics with intent to distribute, and possession of schedule I and II narcotics.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.