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Con artists stole jewelry worn by women in Northern Virginia. Police are asking for help finding them – WTOP News

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Con artists stole jewelry worn by women in Northern Virginia. Police are asking for help finding them – WTOP News


Several people used sleight of hand to steal jewelry worn by women in Northern Virginia, and police in Fairfax County are asking for the public’s help to find the suspects.

Several people used sleight of hand to steal jewelry worn by women in Northern Virginia, and police in Fairfax County are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspects.

The robberies began at 1:30 p.m. on March 20 and followed a similar pattern. According to police, suspects described as women in SUVs would approach other women in parking lots, start conversations and offer them jewelry.

As the suspects placed costume jewelry on the women, they would use sleight of hand to remove the women’s real jewelry, driving off before the victims knew what happened, police said.

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After reviewing surveillance footage and identifying one of the vehicles involved, Fairfax County police issued a nationwide bulletin for a white 2026 Toyota Highlander registered out of state. The next day, Delaware State Police stopped the Highlander as it was entering a shopping center in New Castle.

Troopers in Delaware detained and identified those inside the Toyota, including Cristina Milhaela Paun, 21, of Baltimore. She was then let go.

Detectives in Fairfax County said they have since identified Paun as a suspect in two of the March 20 thefts and obtained warrants for felony pickpocketing and robbery. She is wanted, and police are asking the public for information regarding her whereabouts.

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The exact times and locations of each theft are listed below:

  • 1:30 p.m., 6900 block of Hechinger Drive in Springfield (white SUV, Paun identified as a suspect)
  • 1:30 p.m., 13900 block of Metrotech Drive in Chantilly (black SUV)
  • 3:30 p.m., 12900 block of Wood Crescent Circle near Herndon (white SUV, Paun identified as a suspect)
  • 3:55 p.m., 6800 block of Commerce Street in Franconia (black SUV, two suspects, described as a 50-year-old woman with red hair and gold teeth and a 25-year-old woman wearing a headscarf). Video of this incident can be seen below.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about Paun’s location or about any of these, or similar incidents to call the Reston Police Station at 703-478-0904. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at 1-866-411-8477 and online.

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia

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Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia


Those honks you heard on I-66? They weren’t from cars.

Police officers in Northern Virginia herded a family of Canada geese off the highway Thursday afternoon, as lanes were shut down to keep everyone safe.

The geese were spotted on I-66 westbound near the exit for Sycamore Street. Metro Transit Police got to them first, and Arlington County officers and Virginia State Police also responded to help, acording to Arlington County Police.

Video shows police vehicles slowly following the geese — two adults with a cluster of fuzzy yellow goslings — as they waddled along the far right shoulder toward milemarker 69.6.

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Lane closures were put into effect about 1:30 p.m., and police were able to escort the geese off the highway within about 15 minutes.

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County police quipped on Facebook: “What’s good for the goose…is probably to stay of I-66. 🪿 Virginia State Police , Metro Forward Police Department, Virginia Department of Transportation and ACPD officers worked together to assist a family of geese off a busy highway in a feat so great it gave us goosebumps!”



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More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth $1M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says

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More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says


More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million were seized this month in Bristol, according to the Virginia State Police.

Multiple search warrants were executed this month by VSP and the Holston River Regional Drug Task Force in at various areas across the city between May 1 and May 13.

On May 1, a search warrant was executed at a business on Euclid Avenue. Around three pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $13,500. The location was within a school zone and a childcare facility.

On May 6, another search warrant was executed at a warehouse in Bristol. Virginia State Police seized 250 pounds of marijuana (street value of $1,135,000), 192 marijuana plants ($576,000), 50 pounds of THC edibles ($22,700). Charges are forthcoming, police said.

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Another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on West State Street. Around 25 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $112,500. Additional evidence was also seized.

In addition, another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on Paulena Drive. About 30 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $135,000. Additional evidence was also seized.

The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the investigation for any possible applicable civil enforcement actions.

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The Holston River Regional Drug Task Force includes the Town of Abingdon Police Department, Bristol Police Department, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Town of Lebanon Police Department, as well as Virginia State Police.



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Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News

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Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News


Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.

Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.

After a bill signing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute on Wednesday, Spanberger made her most extensive public comments about the state’s redistricting plan. She cited the state’s May 12 deadline for any map changes, and said as a result, this year’s elections will proceed under the current map.

Spanberger’s remarks came a few days after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-led redistricting push. Primaries in the state are scheduled for Aug. 4, with the November general election to follow.

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“What needs to happen is we need to focus on the task at hand, which is winning races in November,” Spanberger said.

“I believe, somewhat doggedly, that we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives. … That is my goal. That is what I know is possible.”

The map Democrats proposed, experts said, could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. But Republicans challenged the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put the constitutional amendment before voters.

In a 4-3 opinion issued Friday morning, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the Republican challengers.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Republicans until Thursday evening to respond to Democrats’ request for the emergency appeal.

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Spanberger defended the process the General Assembly used, adding: “I think I certainly would have wanted to, and did want to, see a different outcome with the Supreme Court ruling.”

Over three million people participated in the rare April special election, and Spanberger said she’s concerned those voters “have had the experience of casting a ballot in an election that was very important to them, including those on both sides of the referendum vote, only to have it be overturned, essentially, by the Supreme Court of Virginia.”

Elected officials, she said, will have to work to ensure “that people know that their votes do matter, and that when it comes to the ballot they’re going to cast — whether it’s for a primary over the summer or for the general election into the fall — that they shouldn’t feel depleted or defeated, that their votes matter.”

Spanberger called the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “important, but when it comes to the execution of elections, no matter the outcome in that case, we will be running our elections beginning next month with early voting on the current maps that we have.”

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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.



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