Shouting Match at Police HQ Leads to Jail for Manassas Man (ICYMI)

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Image: John Charles Dellinger Jr. (Manassas City Police Department)

A recent road rage incident began at a Manassas convenience store, continued at the city’s police headquarters and ended when officers pulled over and arrested one of the combatants on multiple criminal charges.

John Charles Dellinger Jr., one of the two drivers in the July 1 scuffle, was charged with shoplifting and driving on a revoked license (his seventh offense), the Manassas police said. He also was served with an outstanding warrant for an unrelated offense in Warren County, Va.

Dellinger, 26, of 11807 Lucasville Road in Manassas, was being held without bond in the Prince William-Manassas regional jail. He has a pending court date of Aug. 10.

At 3:55 p.m. on July 1, Manassas police officers responded to the road rage incident in an unlikely location: the parking lot of their own headquarters at 9518 Fairview Ave. The officers found two individuals yelling at each other while standing outside of their vehicles, according to a city police report.

One driver then left, making a right turn onto Fairview Avenue towards Wellington Road. Officers pursued the vehicle and brought it to a stop in the 9500 block of Richmond Avenue.

The driver, identified as Dellinger, told officers that he had gotten into an argument with the other driver at a 7-Eleven on Dumfries Road (Route 234), which escalated into a fight. The other driver then urged Dellinger to follow him to his residence, he said, but instead led him to police headquarters.

As they questioned Dellinger, the officers were also notified of a shoplifting incident that had just occurred at Giant Food, at 10100 Dumfries Road, and identified him as the suspect, the police report said.