Manassas City Police take reports on kidnapping and utility cutoff scams

Manassas City Police Department Crime Report for January 15, 2014

Hit and Run
At approximately 7:10AM on January 10, 2014 Manassas City Police responded to the intersection of Hastings Dr and Magnolia Grove Dr in reference to a hit and run.  Upon arrival, Officers met with the victim whose vehicle had been struck.  According to the victim, she was traveling east on Hastings Dr approaching Magnolia Grove Dr when a blue four-door sedan entered the intersection from Hendley Rd, striking the driver’s side front bumper of her vehicle.  The suspect vehicle then continued east on Hastings Dr, made a U-turn over the median and proceeded westbound on Hastings Dr before driving into the grass just before Hendley Rd.  The suspect vehicle then struck a Verizon phone box before continuing north onto Hendley Rd towards Wellington Rd.  The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Fraud
On January 11, 2014 Manassas City Police met with a business owner at 10462 Dumfries Rd in reference to an attempted fraud.  According to the reporting party, a man who claimed to be named “Francis” from “Virginia Power” called one of the business’s locations and told the business owner that if she did not send him an undisclosed amount of money by money order within the hour, the business’s power would be disconnected.  The victim complied.  Upon making contact with the caller a second time, the victim was asked to send additional funds in the same manner.  The victim did not comply a second time, but discovered the calls were fraudulent and informed Police.

Note from Manassas Police Department: The City of Manassas Department of Utilities is the exclusive provider of utilities in the City, and does not call to notify residents or businesses of service cut-offs.  Furthermore, the Department of Utilities only accepts payments in person at the Public Works facility – never through card or wire transfers from an “authorized payment store.”  To verify the status of your utilities account, contact the Department of Utilities directly at 703-257-8245.

Larceny from Vehicle
On January 13, 2014 Manassas City Police met with a resident on the 8200 block of Liberia Ave in reference to a larceny.  According to the reporting parties, someone(s) entered into the victim’s locked work van between approximately 2:00PM on January 12th and 5:40AM on January 13th and stole various tools valued at approximately $3,400.00.

Suspicious Event
On January 13, 2014 Manassas City Police responded to the 9000 block of Whispering Pine Ct for a report of a possible kidnapping.  The reporting party stated that she received a call from an unknown person the same morning who told her that her daughter had been kidnapped.  The caller told her not to contact the Police and to send an undisclosed amount of money to Puerto Rico in order to free her daughter.  She did contact Police, who made contact with her children who were safe, and determined the call to be fraudulent.

Note from Manassas Police Department: The phone rings and someone on the other line says he has kidnapped your son/daughter/wife/husband, and that if you don’t send him money right away, he’ll kill your relative.  What should you do?
1)  Be diligent – try and make contact with the relative you’re concerned about.
2)  Do not give out any personal or financial information to the caller, send him/her money, or agree to meet him in person.  As with any other hoax, it’s best to just HANG UP.
3)  Report the call to MCPD’s non-emergency #: 703-257-8000.  If something truly is amiss, do not hesitate to call 9-1-1.

Stay current on trending scams at scam-detector.com.

Burglary
On January 13, 2014 Manassas City Police met with a resident on the 10000 block of Greenleaf Dr in reference to a burglary.  According to the reporting party, someone(s) broke into his residence sometime between 8:00AM and 5:15PM on January 13th and stole an iPod Mini, an older model Blackberry cell phone, and a 22 caliber pistol.

Aggravated Assault
At approximately 4:00AM on January 14, 2014 Manassas City Police were dispatched to the “Train Depot” located at 9431 West St for a report of an aggravated assault.  According to the victim, someone shot him in the side with a BB gun while driving past the Train Depot, causing minor injuries to the victim.  The suspect was last seen driving onto Prince William St before turning onto Main St.
Description of suspect: Black male with a black hat driving a white, four-door Volkswagen Jetta

**END**

Anyone with information about these events is encouraged to call the Manassas City Police Department Investigative Services Division at (703) 257-8092 or Crime Solvers.  The Manassas City Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward up to $1000.00 for information that leads to an arrest in these cases.  The confidential 24-hour tip line is (703) 330-0330.