The holidays are upon us, and it’s the season of giving. Like giving that nice man pointing a loaded gun at your head your wallet immediately. Fa-la-la-la-la.
Maybe it’s the pressure to make up for an entire year of being a dirtbag with some kick-ass presents for those closest to you. Maybe it’s the rising prices of videogame systems. Maybe the supposition that people turn into even bigger dicks around this time of year is true. But one thing is for sure, ’tis the season for armed robberies and credit card theft and fraud.
Albemarle County Police spokesperson Lt. John Teixeira says that county police are investigating three armed robberies and one armed home invasion that occurred in a span of three days. On the evening of December 9, a Hispanic male was robbed at 2200 Commonwealth Dr. The next night, another robbery of a Hispanic male occurred in the Southwood trailer park. Hours later, a Shell station was held up on Ivy Road. The home invasion occurred at Townwood Court.
"I would consider that a spike," says Teixeira. "We don’t normally have that many armed robberies in Albemarle County. So to get this many within the short period of time is disconcerting."
But not entirely unexpected.
"Sometimes we anticipate a rise in person and property crimes around the holidays," he says. "We’re concerned that Hispanic males are being targeted because they appear to carry large amounts of cash on them."
Armed robbery isn’t the only method for thievery. On December 10, Richmond sheriff’s deputies arrested Sharon Wells, 47, for failing to appear on a traffic charge. But after checking state records, officials discovered that Wells had more than 100 outstanding warrants against her, 49 of them in Albemarle County, most of them for credit card theft and fraud.
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