Police Round Up Alleged Gang Members

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Image: Israel Santos Maldonado (PWCPD)

Prince William County police arrested and charged six teenagers with gang activity after three recent robberies in the Manassas area.

Two of the heists happened in broad daylight near Sudley Road (Route 234) north of Manassas, according to police reports. Five of the teenagers are being held at the Prince William Juvenile Detention Center, and their court dates are pending.

Store Theft: Police responded at 4:36 p.m. Tuesday to Global Foods at 10320 Festival Lane, where employees said that five teens - three boys and two girls - entered the store and tried to steal beer. When confronted by the employees, a struggle ensued.

All of the suspects fled the store with the beer before police arrived. Minor injuries were reported.

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In reviewing the store’s surveillance footage, officers identified the suspects as area gang members. Detectives from the police department’s Gang Unit located and arrested four of the suspects, three of whom were juveniles.

The fourth suspect arrested was Israel Santos Maldonado, 18, of 8233 Wycliffe Court in Manassas, who was charged with robbery and gang participation. He was being held without bond in the Prince William-Manassas regional jail, and he’s due to appear in court on June 1.

The juveniles who were arrested included a 15-year-old boy from Bristow, a 17-year-old boy from Manassas, and a 15-year-old girl from Manassas. All three were charged with robbery and gang participation.

Strong-Armed Robberies: On April 17, detectives from the Gang Unit responded to a robbery reported to have occurred earlier in the day in the 8800 block of Rixlew Lane.

They found out that the victim, a 16-year-old boy from Dumfries, was walking in the area when he was approached by two acquaintances. They said they were gang members and assaulted the victim before taking his headphones and fleeing on foot. Minor injuries were reported.

While investigating this incident, the detectives learned that the same two suspects committed another robbery on April 16, forcibly taking a cell phone belonging to a different victim.

Following the investigation, the two juveniles were arrested Tuesday without incident. The suspects, a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, both from Manassas, were each charged with two counts of robbery and one count of gang participation.