Arrest Made in Series of Vehicle Break-Ins

A man was apprehended about 5 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of George St., after several witnesses reported him, Natatia Bledsoe, Fredericksburg Police Department spokesperson, said.

Two witnesses told police they saw a male subject looking into vehicles and pulling on car door handles in a parking lot on George Street. When the suspicious man removed a rock from his pocket and threw it at the window of a parked Camry, one of the witnesses yelled at the suspect, Bledsoe said.  The suspect ran from the scene. Nothing was stolen from the Camry.

While an officer was taking information for the report of the damaged Camry, another report came in about a male subject who had just broken the window of and stolen a purse from a black Kia parked on Mary Ball Street.

The description of the thief matched the description provided by the
witnesses on George Street.

Officers responding to Mary Ball Street received information from the Kia’s owner that the suspect was last seen running toward the dog park on Kenmore Avenue. Officers searched the area and a short time later spotted the suspect walking on nearby Maury Street, Bledsoe said.

Officers briefly chased the suspect on foot, until he was taken into custody in a Maury Street back yard.

The stolen purse from the Kia was later discovered near the dog park, the victim’s wallet was recovered along the canal path, and her credit cards and cell phone were found inside a pocket of the suspect’s jacket, Bledsoe said.

During the investigation, it was further determined that the suspect was also
connected to a vehicle break-in and larceny of a purse reported earlier in the day in the 2200 block of Charles Street. That purse was recovered from a storm drain on Elmhurst Avenue.

The suspect was identified as Stacey Branham, 23, of Fredericksburg.   He was arrested on the charges of felony destruction of property and tampering with a vehicle for the incident on George Street; felony destruction of property, grand larceny, three felony counts of possession of stolen credit cards, and obstruction of justice for the incident on Mary Ball Street; and destruction of property and grand larceny for the incident on Charles Street.

Branham was incarcerated at the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond. The investigation is ongoing.

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