Police: Man Used Deceased Woman's Debit Card

William Darr, Jr., has been charged with burglary, larceny and fraud. Where an arrest is mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Fredericksburg police officers responded to a room at the George Washington Motel May 12 for a report of a deceased female.  Family members had come to the motel to check on their relative, and called police when her death was discovered. Investigators determined the death of the 58-year-old woman was not suspicious in nature, police spokesperson Natatia Bledsoe said. On May 15, the investigating detective received information from one of the relatives that the wallet belonging to the deceased was missing, Bledsoe said. Additionally, a fraud investigator from a local bank informed the detective the debit card belonging to the deceased had been used to make purchases at local businesses the day after the victim’s death. Further …

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Fxbg Police Report

Juvenile Arrested for Purse Snatching

The City of Fredericksburg Police Department provided this information. Where an arrest is mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

PURSE SNATCHING: 600 block Sophia St, 5/14 11:00 p.m.  A female employee of a downtown business reported that she was walking to her vehicle when she was approached from behind by a man who grabbed her shoulder bag and ran toward City Dock.  Officers responded to the scene and obtained a description of the suspect from the uninjured victim; a K-9 team from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office also arrived to conduct a track.  The K-9 followed a track to the 300 block of Princess Anne Street.  Nearby, officers encountered a subject matching the suspect description, and they chased him on foot until he was taken into custody near the intersection of Dixon and Princess Anne Streets.  The victim positively identified the subject as the man who …

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Firefighter Honored for 31 Years of Service

Carroll Brook Altman was recognized by Fredericksburg City Council.

Carroll Altman was honored on the occasion of his retirement for 31 years of service to the City of Fredericksburg Fire Department at this week's City Council meeting. Altman was hired in 1981 and processed through the ranks to become a Battalion Chief, a position he held for 10 years. He was instrumental in the initiation of the department's first Self Contained Breathing Apparatus program. He recieved a watch from the city and his helmet from Edwin L. Allen, Jr., Chief.  

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Fxbg Police Report

Victims Bound During Home Invasion, Robbery

The City of Fredericksburg Police Department provided this information. Where an arrest is mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

ROBBERY: 100 block Farrell Ln, 5/14 3:00 a.m. Police responded to a home invasion robbery where the three adult residents, a mother and son and a male roommate, reported they were tied up and threatened at gunpoint by multiple assailants. The roommate also told the investigating officers that his vehicle, a 2001 silver Chevrolet Cavalier, had been stolen in Woodbridge around 3 p.m. on May 13, and his cell phone and keys were stolen along with the car. The victims described how four men wearing masks and armed with guns woke them around 3 a.m. Tuesday and tied their hands. The offenders then ransacked the house and stole various items of value. As the suspects were leaving a shot was fired, which was heard and reported by neighbors along …

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Girl, 7, Hit by Car While Waiting for School Bus

The girl is being transferred to INOVA Fairfax Hospital in stable condition.

A 7-year-old girl is in stable condition with head and neck injuries after being hit by a car while waiting for her school bus Tuesday morning, according to the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office. "Our preliminary investigation indicates the child was standing in the small cul-du-sac of Daniel's Court waiting for her bus when a car turning left from Plantation Forest Drive struck her," said Lt. Troy Skebo with the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office. "The child's mother was standing a few driveways up and witnessed the incident." The child was taken to Mary Washington Hospital and is being transferred to INOVA Fairfax Hospital. "She is in stable condition and will be able to recover," Skebo said. The incident occurred at 8:24 a.m. The vehicle …

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Susan Larson

7:58 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Thank you for your concern. The police said the hospital believes she will fully recover.   more ›

Sheriff's Office: Visa & MasterCard Scam Reported

Callers are 'verifying information' in order to obtain the three-digit security code on the back of these cards.

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of a telephone scam compromising Visa and MasterCard accounts. Calls are being placed allegedly from your bank’s fraud department in an attempt to obtain the three-digit verification code on the back of the  credit/debit card, according to the Crime Prevention Unit.  That code enables the scammer to fraudently use the credit/debit card online and on the telephone.  The Sheriff's Office provided the following information. The Call Scenario 1. You receive a call -- allegedly from your bank’s fraud department. 2. The caller states they are with your Visa or MasterCard company, providing their alleged badge number. 3. The caller advises that your credit card account (Visa or MasterCard…

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Crime Map: Murder Charges, Downtown Vandal Arrests, Stray Bullet

Burglaries, assaults and other incidents that occurred in and around Fredericksburg this week.

Incidents on this map represent a block number or a street, not exact addresses. Where an arrest is mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction. For more information about the incidents referenced in this article, see:

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Weird News: Sinkholes, Mouse Droppings, Police Chases, Hating Mother's Day and Loving Kate Middleton

It's time for this week's roundup of the region's wackiest news.

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening in at least one of them. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. Weird Virginia/DC usually runs on Patch sites every Saturday.  Everyone knows that Northern Virginia and DC traffic is notoriously bad. Add a sinkhole to the mix, and you've got problems. That's what happened in Reston this week when motorists on Lawyers Road near Steeplechase were detoured, as a 10-foot sinkhole showed itself. Fairfax Water and road crews patched the spot by the evening rush hour, and thankfully no one was injured by the giant hole in the road. We realize everybody hates traffic, but somebody out there also hates Mother's …

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Arrest in Julie Serna Gonzales Shooting

Husband Arthur Gonzales, an FBI agent, turned himself in to Stafford law enforcement Friday.

Arthur Gonzales, the estranged husband of Julie Serna Gonzales, turned himself in to detectives at the Stafford Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening. Gonzales, 42, has been charged with one count of 2nd degree murder and one count of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the shooting death of his wife, said Bill Kennedy, Stafford Sheriff's Office spokesperson. On April 19 multiple units of the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office responded to 59 Alderwood Drive for a report of a domestic call involving a shooting, Kennedy said.  In a recording of the 9-1-1 call obtained by the Las Cruces Sun-News, Arthur Gonzales told the 9-1-1 operator that he had shot his wife.  "She just attacked me with a knife and I had to shoot her," he …

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