Nine days, four bank heists

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: January 2, 2009

When Sam Justice woke up this morning, he had better things to do than wonder why his work truck was stolen.

To make his day even worse, he didn't need to think about the fact it could have been used in a bank robbery.

Just after 2 p.m. on Friday the Virginia Commerce Bank near Manassas was robbed.

Police said a man walked in and approached the teller, implied he was armed and demanded money.

He made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Justice said he reported the theft of his red Ford F-150, from his home in the 7900 block of Appomattox Avenue near Manassas Park, just after 6 that morning.

Justice said police told him it was his red pickup that the culprit used as a getaway car in the robbery.

As Prince William police investigated the area's third bank heist in nine days, deputies in Stafford were chasing down another bank robber—one who may have already struck three times in the Woodbridge area.

A Wachovia bank, located at 290 Garrisonville Road, was robbed around 2:45 p.m. Friday.

The description of the robber given by the Stafford Sheriff's office is strikingly familiar to another—one Prince William police issued in three other robberies that happened in the county the last two months.

He is described as a white man, no more than 5 feet 9 inches tall, wearing a jacket and a hat, somewhere between 45 and 55 years old.

It was the description Prince William police gave when the Dale City Wachovia was robbed in late November.

A similar description was issued when a Woodbridge Wachovia was knocked over on Christmas Eve.

And again just this week after a Cardinal Bank on Minnieville Road, near Potomac Mills mall, was robbed around noon on Monday.

In all three incidents, police said the man walked up to the teller, demanded money and implied he was armed.

In all three of those cases, and now at the banks near Manassas and in Stafford, the robber never showed a gun.

"The man did say if the teller didn't give up the money that he would jump across the counter," said Bill Kennedy, Stafford Sheriff's spokesman.

In all three robberies in the Woodbridge area, and in Stafford on Friday, the man left on foot.

Near Manassas, the man was said to leave in the red truck.

The Virginia Commerce Bank near Manassas and the Stafford Wachovia are also more than 30 miles apart.

Just 25 minutes before the Manassas area bank was robbed, a man walked into a nearby Dairy Queen and attempted to rob it, said Erika Hernandez, Prince William police spokeswoman.

While the man didn't take anything from the Dairy Queen, Justice said police told him his truck could have been used in that robbery as well.

Police would not say if the two incidents are related.

"I'm glad I called to report the truck stolen or it might have been me the police were looking for today," said Justice.

Justice has owned and operated a small handyman business out of his home since 1999.

He said the truck, which also had a lawn mower loaded onto it when it was stolen, was valued around $6,500.

His wife, Varina, said they often have employees who work for the business at their house before or after shifts, but this is the first time anything of theirs has been stolen.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.