Police: Man Arrested After Trying To Steal Mobile Phone

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A man who became unruly Tuesday at a Manassas shopping center is in jail after he allegedly tried to steal another man’s mobile phone, according to the Prince William County police.

Hillard Thelonius Lewis Jr., 48, of no fixed address, was charged with robbery, destruction of property, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, according to a Prince Wiliam police report. He’s being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas reginal Adult Detention Center, and he will appear in court on March 20.

Lewis was arrested after police responded at 4:39 p.m. Tuesday to a disturbance at the Westgate Plaza Shopping Center in the 8000 block of Sudley Road (Route 234). Several business owners told police that a man was acting disorderly and causing problems in the shopping center, police said.

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When officers arrived, they encountered a victim, a 61-year-old Manassas man, who told them that another man, similar in description to the suspect in the previous incidents, had attempted to forcibly take his mobile phone, which led to a struggle. The accused broke the victim’s phone and fled on foot, police said.

Officers located the man, identified as Lewis, on Sudley Road and detained him. The accused would not cooperate with officers once arrested, police said.

At the regional jail, Lewis continued to act disorderly and, at one point, he head-butted an officer in the chest, police said. No injuries were reported.