Usually the early bird gets the worm, but in the case of an early morning trespasser in South Stafford, the early bird went to jail.

On January 24th at 2:15 a.m. Deputy S.A. Fulford and Deputy S.C. Jett responded to a complaint of loud noises near the area of 30 Town and Country Drive. The deputies surreptitiously approached the business on foot and witnessed a suspect inside the fenced area banging on an air conditioning unit.

Deputies confronted the man through the fence and the man explained he was dumpster diving. The man was instructed to come back over the fence to deputies, but instead chose to run and scale a fence on the opposite side of the business.

The suspect was able to briefly evade deputies, but an alert witness reported the man had run to the parking lot of nearby Temple Baptist Church. Deputies congregated at the church and located the suspect feigning sleep in a car.

Deputies noticed the suspect was breathing heavily, sweating profusely and the jacket and hat he had been wearing moments earlier were on the passenger side of the car. The suspect was charged with trespassing, obstruction, attempted larceny and trespassing at a church. He was held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $3,500 bond.

Thank you to the alert witness for their assistance on this case.