Police Briefs - July 17 Paper | Stafford County Sun

Ferry Farm Rite Aid robbed, thief at large

FALMOUTH — The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who robbed the Rite Aid Pharmacy at Ferry Farm Shopping Center on July 10, at about 1:30 p.m.

A thin, black man with a dark complexion, about 6 feet 4 inches tall to 6 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 170-190 pounds, wearing dark pants, a button-up shirt, a knit hat and large dark sunglasses, entered the store and demanded money from the clerk while displaying a handgun, according to sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Bill Kennedy. The clerk complied and the man fled on foot.

Anyone with information regarding this offense is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at (540) 658-4400 or Crime Solvers at (540) 659-2020.

Cars vandalized on Bells Hill Road

STAFFORD — Vehicles were vandalized on Bells Hill Road sometime between the evening of July 10 and the next morning, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

A commercial vehicle had its windshield and passenger window smashed out while a private vehicle had its driver’s side window shattered.

The same person is suspected in both offenses as no items were taken from either vehicle and each vehicle appears to have been struck with the same instrument.

Anyone with information regarding these offenses is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at (540) 658-4400 or Crime Solvers at (540) 659-2020.

Victim follows offender after being struck

STAFFORD — After being hit from behind while driving south on Interstate 95 near the Garrisonville exit shortly after midnight on July 11, a woman called in the offender’s plate number and tailed the offender until she could flag down a deputy near the intersection of Garrisonville Road and Salisbury Drive, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies followed the offender, Faye Brown, 38, of Stafford, who ignored the deputies’ emergency lights. She finally came to a stop on Worth Avenue when a deputy positioned his car in front of hers. As a deputy approached her car, he noted a strong odor of alcohol, said Kennedy. Brown was charged with driving under the influence and hit and run and incarcerated in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Crime Solvers seek help in credit card crime

STAFFORD — Stafford County Crime Solvers is seeking assistance regarding an incident of credit card fraud at the Warrenton Road Wawa on May 25 at about 11:45 a.m., according to a press release received from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

The offender is described a white man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall to 5 feet 11 inches tall, 160-210 pounds, wearing khaki shorts, black or dark blue sleeveless shirt and sporting a short military style haircut.

He was driving a late model Dodge Dakota pickup truck and towing a boat. He was last seen driving north on Warrenton Road.

Anyone with information regarding this offense is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at (540) 658-4400 or Crime Solvers at (540) 659-2020 or (866) 493-1083.

— Jim Lawrence

Girl Scout leader pleads guilty

A former Culpeper County Girl Scout leader pleaded guilty to embezzling money from her former troop.

Catherine N. Pretlow, 35, pleaded guilty to the felony charge Wednesday morning in Circuit Court, records show. She was given a four-year suspended sentence, a $300 fine and three years probation.

In a criminal complaint filed in February, a police detective wrote that Pretlow failed to deposit money into troop 3030’s bank account. In a second incident referenced in the complaint, the detective reported that Pretlow wrote herself a $2,550 check on the troop’s account to pay her mortgage.