Daycare Center Targeted In Stafford: Police (ICYMI)

STAFFORD, VA — A woman dropping off her kids at a North Stafford daycare center Friday morning didn't lock her vehicle while taking them inside and upon returning found that her purse, cell phone and others items had been stolen, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. But while leaving the building, she noticed a man dressed in all black quickly walk around the corner, which aroused her suspicions after she found her goods missing. She called police while driving around looking for him and spotted him near the daycare center before officers arrived.

The woman approached the man and asked him if he was at the center a few minutes earlier. He replied that he had been. She asked him to return there with her. He began walking toward the center but then ran off in a different direction. That's when police arrived, saw what was happening and detained the man, who confessed to the theft. He said he left the victim's property in a wooded area behind a nearby shopping center. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

A K-9 unit was summoned, and the victim's property was recovered. Travis C. Peters, of North Stafford, was charged with grand larceny, three counts of credit card theft and vehicle tempering.

Photo: Stafford County Sheriff's Office