ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Stephanie Lynn Schwab, 26, of Manassas, Va., admitted today to carrying out three bank robberies and to stealing or carjacking three cars used in the robberies, in addition to participating in a separate heroin distributing ring operating out of Manassas.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ronald T. Hosko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge T. S. Ellis III.
“Stephanie Schwab learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Her notorious crime spree was put to an end because of incredible coordination among law enforcement. Today, she took responsibility for the terror she instilled in bank employees and residents throughout the D.C.-metro area.”
“Stephanie Schwab’s actions endangered countless individuals as she robbed banks, stole cars, and caused a traffic accident while attempting to evade arrest,” said Special Agent in Charge Hosko. “The quick response and coordinated investigative action of many law enforcement agencies put a stop to her crimes and protected the safety of our citizens.”
Today, Schwab pled guilty to one count of bank robbery, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; one count of transportation of a stolen vehicle, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and one count of conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2012.
According to a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, from Nov. 18, 2011, through Nov. 30, 2011, Schwab robbed or attempted to rob three local banks of thousands of dollars, claiming to have a gun and threatening them with violence if they did not comply with her demands. For each robbery, Schwab either stole or took by force a car that she used to travel to and from the crime scene.
In addition, Schwab admitted her participation in a separate case involving a heroin trafficking ring that purchased large supplies of heroin from sources in New York and the Washington, D.C.-metro area and distributed the heroin to customers in Manassas from 2009 through 2011.
Schwab was apprehended by the Fairfax County Police Department following her attempted robbery of a bank on Nov. 30, 2011. After leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase on I-495 onto a local road in Montgomery County, Md., she turned the stolen vehicle into oncoming traffic and caused a three-vehicle crash. She tried to flee on foot but was caught and arrested by the pursuing officer.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the police departments in Fairfax County, Baltimore County, Prince William County, and Manassas City; and the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean P. Tonolli and Lisa Owings, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth N. Eriksen, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
-Press release
By Claire Porter
Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Twenty people have been arrested in Virginia and 20 others elsewhere in an undercover investigation targeting online child predators and child pornographers, officials announced today.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli joined Maj. Ricky Gardner of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and Col. Steve Flaherty of the Virginia State Police at a news conference to unveil the results of a collaborative undercover law enforcement effort.
They said it was the first time that the Internet Crimes Against Children task force in Northern Virginia had teamed up with the ICAC task force in Southern Virginia, along with the attorney general’s office.
Both task forces are comprised of dozens of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
The operation was conducted during one week in 2011. The 20 Virginia arrests were made throughout the state, including in Bedford, Fairfax, Prince William, Virginia Beach, Richmond and Loudoun County. In addition, 20 arrests were made outside Virginia.
Virginia officials received cooperation from ICAC task forces across the United States as well as law enforcement agencies in Australia and France.
The arrests were part of an investigation called Operation Phalanx, named after an ancient Greek military formation to crush opponents, Cuccinelli said.
“A primary responsibility of law enforcement is to protect our most innocent citizens: our children,” Cuccinelli said. “The Internet can be a great educational tool, but for young people it can also be a dangerous place.”
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 34 percent of children age 10-17 will encounter some type of unwanted exposure to online sex solicitation.
Operation Phalanx is still ongoing, so the officials said they could not reveal all of the details. The agencies are discussing the effectiveness of the joint process and whether there will be future collaborations.
The work depended on ICAC-specific digital forensic labs in Richmond, Roanoke and Fairfax.
“We will continue to fight this battle with all that we have, and with God’s help and our General Assembly’s support, we will make a difference,” Cuccinelli said.
Flaherty, the head of Virginia State Police, said he believes that the work of the ICAC task forces “gives children a voice above the Internet din.”
“In Virginia, child exploitation is everywhere, and the Internet knows no boundaries,” Flaherty said. He said it’s still sometimes “like shooting fish in a barrel.”
Since the ICAC task forces began in 1998, the officials have looked into more than 280,000 complaints of online child predators and arrested about 30,000 individuals.
Two Jump From Fairfax Bridge to Dodge Train
NBCWashington.com reports A man was injured when he and another adult jumped from a railroad bridge to avoid an oncoming train in Fairfax County.
Mark Warner Discusses Jobs, Economy
The (Mary Washington University) Bullet reports Senator Mark Warner spoke at the University of Mary Washington for a “conversation about jobs and innovation,” a subject Warner recognized as being on the forefront of many college students’ minds, in Monroe Hall on April 3rd at 9:30 a.m.
“My way or the highway” bill awaits VA governor’s decision
Greater Greater Washington reports Who should decide how an area grows? Local officials and voters, or the government in Richmond? The focus on decisions would shift under Virginia’s latest transportation bill, which gives the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) new powers to supersede local planning.
Fairfax chamber wants state budget to include Dulles rail project
The Washington Business Journal reports The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce is urging state budget negotiators to include $300 million for Metro’s Dulles rail project.
Virginia Officials Announce Over 20 Online Predator Arrests
CBS DC reports Authorities say 20 people from across Virginia have been arrested in an undercover operation targeting online child predators.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Space Shuttle Discovery will make its final landing in Fairfax County on April 17.
Discovery will take off — positioned on the back of a modified Boeing 747 jet from Kennedy Space Center in Florida — in the early hours of April 17 bound for Dulles International Airport and is expected to arrive during the mid-morning hours, according to Fairfax County officials.
Fairfax County officials said the spacecraft’s landing will not be visible, but they have invited residents to come and watch the orbiter approach from the historic Sully Historic Site located off Va. 28 in Chantilly. They are also exploring ways to televise the landing live from the airport. There’s a $10 cover charged for admission to the park, which includes a tour of the historic home Northern Virginia’s first congressman, Richard Bland Lee.
Discovery flew 39 missions, beginning in 1984 until March 2011. It twice flew NASA’s “return to flight” missions in 1988 and 2006, following the Challenger and Columbia disasters in 1986 and in 2003, respectively.
Discovery also deployed the famed Hubble Telescope, which since 1990 has beamed back to earth fascinating images of the cosmos.
Once in Fairfax County, the shuttle will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Udvar-Hazy Center. The space shuttle program’s test orbiter, Enterprise, has been on display at the Air and Space center, but Enterprise will now be on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — There are four transportation organizations that help govern how some commuters travel in Northern Virginia. Now there is a renewed call to consolidate them.
A total of 22 elected legislators in March sent a letter to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, one of the four transportation groups on the list that was asked to explore consolidation. PRTC operates OmniRide and OmniLink bus service in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park.
For the past two sessions of the Virginia General Assembly, there have been failed efforts to consolidate PRTC, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, Northern Virginia Regional Transportation Authority, and the Northern Virginia Regional Alliance.
The PRTC Commission is lead by several elected officials who meet on a monthly basis. Prince William Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe Chairs both the NVRC and the NVTA.
“We ask you as chairs of NVTA, NVRC, NVTC, and PRTC, to engage your organizations in an effort to determine whether consolidation and/or improved coordination would improve regional planning, including transportation planning and services,” the letter stated.
Delegates from the Potomac Communities who signed the letter include Richard Anderson, R-Prince William, and Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge.
PRTC commissioners are scheduled to take up the matter at tonight’s regularly scheduled commission meeting.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — A Woodbridge woman was held without bond and another man wanted in connection cocaine and gun charges.
Detectives from the Prince William Count Street Crimes Unit on Monday attempted to make a traffic stop in the area of Eastbourne Drive and Potomac Club Parkway, near Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge. Before they could stop him, the driver threw the car into reverse and slammed into a police cruiser, according to police reports.
The car now stopped, the man fled the scene on foot. Police searched the car and evidence inside the vehicle lead them to a home at on Sheffield Hill Way, where they found evidence supporting the suspicion of cocaine distribution, cash, and a handgun, according to police documents.
Lakecia Shawnette Evans, 34, was arrested while inside the home that night, and charged with with possession with intent to distribute a schedule I or II narcotic [cocaine], possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm with narcotics, documents state. She is scheduled to appear in court May 11.The suspected driver of the car, 30-year-old Kai Tyrone Evans, is described as black, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 170 pounds, medium build, black hair, and brown eyes. He’s wanted for hit and run, possession with intent to distribute a schedule I or II narcotic [cocaine], possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm with narcotics and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, police stated. Police did not release a photo of Kai Tyrone Evans.
OCCOQUAN, Va. — On your next trip to Occoquan, you may see historic buildings and pretty scenes, but one thing you’re not going to see is the old Merchant’s Mill, which was once located in historic Occoquan. The mill burned down in 1924, but one resident of Occoquan, Dr. James Walbert, has found a way to revive the memory of Merchant’s Mill – he’s constructed a scale model of the mill for residents and tourists.
On Saturday, Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta and town residents gathered at Town Hall to hear Walbert speak on the history of Merchant’s Mill, and the arduous process he underwent to construct a scale model of the mill. Walbert shared the step by step process he used to construct the model, showing photos and dimensional drawings to further demonstrate the process.
The model, which can be seen at the Mill Museum on Mill Street, was the culmination of almost a year’s worth of work, and is an excellent replica of the mill, based on gathered photos and information found in records.
The model stands a quarter inch to one foot in scale of the original mill, was constructed using construction foam, wood, and other traditional materials, and is full of precise and immaculate details. While some parts of the mill were unable to be researched, requiring Walbert to use some skillful guesswork, with the help of the Historical Society, and Mayor Porta’s book in the Arcadia series on the town of Occoquan, Walbert was able to make a model that is the exact image of Merchant’s Mill.
Residents and patrons are able to see the model of Merchant’s Mill at the Mill Museum in Occoquan, daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Mill Museum is operated by the Occoquan Historical Society.
By Lance Cpl. Emmanuel Ramos
Quantico Sentry
QUANTICO, Va. – More than 220 candidates accepted the grueling challenge of Officer Candidate School training and after 10 weeks, 168 of them marched on to the parade deck there and graduated on Saturday.
The mission of OCS is to train, evaluate and screen officer candidates to ensure they possess the moral, intellectual and physical qualities for commissioning, and the leadership potential to serve successfully as company grade officers in the operating forces.
“Training has been good,” said Maj. Jason P. Koeck, company commander for Charlie Co. “Over the past 10 weeks the candidates have experienced extremes in terms of weather, hot and cold. They took on those challenges and pushed through the physical and mental obstacles we threw at them here.”
While on the parade deck, the candidates showed what they’d learned with their rifles during a Manual of Arms demonstration.
“It’s a sight I’ll never forget,” said Mark Reed, a proud parent who traveled from Dallas to see his son graduate. “When he first told me he wanted to be a Marine officer, I was proud of him, scared like heck, but damn proud of him. Seeing him on the parade deck, in his uniform, well, let’s just say I’m proud to call him my son.”
Guest of honor Lt. Gen. Dennis J Hejlik, commander of United States Marine Corps Forces Command, had a few words to say to the candidates and their families.
“You are the best of the best,” Hejlik said “You have worked hard to get here. Take what you learned and instill that into the Marines you are going to lead. To the families of these candidates, I want to thank you, because, if it were not for your support, these young men and women would not be here today.
After the graduation ceremony, a commissioning ceremony was held at the National Museum of the Marine Corps where the candidates’ families filled the museum to see their loved ones officially become second lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“It’s a great feeling,” said 2nd Lt. Kevin Towler, as his wife pinned on his gold bar to his service alpha uniform. “It’s been a long 10 weeks. There were a lot of trying times, but I pushed forward. I’ve learned a lot about myself and I look forward to leading Marines.”
The newly appointed officers will face new challenges as they begin their six month training at The Basic School aboard Quantico, where they will learn everything it takes to lead Marines.
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. -- A new video shows two males who are suspected of setting fire to a school bus fleeing the scene of the crime.
The video was captured at 12:55 a.m. Saturday outside Ferry Farm Elementary School at 20 Pendleton Road in Stafford County. A short time later, someone called 911 to report a school bus engulfed in flames.
No one was injured in the blaze, said Stafford fire and rescue spokesman Mark Doyle.
