Police Briefs for the week of July 10

Ex-funeral director charged with forgery
STAFFORD — An ex- Fredericksburg City Council member who once served as a funeral service director was arrested last week for forgery.

Ambrose Bailey, 51, of Fredericksburg was arrested on indictments obtained by the State Attorney General’s Office charging him with forging public documents, according to Natatia Bledsoe, spokeswoman for the Fredericksburg Police Department.

Bailey, who worked at Bailey Funeral Service in Fredericksburg, was in Fredericksburg Circuit Court on July 2.

He will be arraigned July 20, according to court documents.

Bailey Funeral Service opened in Fredericksburg in 1954, started by Ambrose Bailey’s father, Weldon Bailey.

Ambrose Bailey is accused of forging doctors’ signatures on death certificates and forms related to cremations.

Police seeking man for assault
STAFFORD — City police are searching for a Fredericksburg man wanted for domestic assault and battery, malicious wounding, abduction, and destruction of property.

Jay Merritt, 52, reportedly forced his way into his girlfriend’s Fredericksburg apartment in the 800 block of William Street on June 29 at about 7 p.m., after an argument.

He broke a pane of glass in the door, causing numerous cuts on the woman’s hand, according to a police report, and did not allow her to leave the home. Then, he wrapped a lamp cord around her neck and dragged her outside, according to witnesses, who notified the police.

Merritt fled the area on a red bicycle. He has not yet been located.

Anyone with information on Merritt’s whereabouts is asked to call the Fredericksburg Police Department at (540) 373-3122.

— Tracy Bell

Vandalisms rampant for a night
STAFFORD — About 22 vandalisms were committed throughout the county from the evening of June 29 through the next morning, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

Cars were vandalized in the Rose Hill Farm subdivision off Joshua Road and in the Brookstone subdivision in the White Oak Area of the county. Items such as GPSs, cigarettes, and loose change were stolen. Mailboxes were vandalized in the Widewater section of the county, particularly off of Arkendale Road.

Anyone with information regarding these offenses is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at (540) 658-4636 or Crime Solvers at (540) 659-2020.

— Jim Lawrence