Fugitive Busted After Fleeing Traffic Stop In Manassas: Police

MANASSAS, VA—A man wanted for two strong-armed robberies was found and arrested early Wednesday after he fled from a traffic stop in the area of Balls Ford Road and Sudley Road, according to Prince William County Police. John Lewis Childs II, 24, of the 8700 block of Signal Hill Road in Manassas, was charged with providing false identity to a law enforcement officer, two counts of robbery, malicious wounding, burglary with the intent to commit a robbery, petit larceny (third or subsequent offense) and assault and battery.

Around 11:35 p.m. Tuesday, an officer on routine patrol spotted a suspicious vehicle leaving a McDonald's parking lot. When the officer made a traffic stop, the vehicle pulled into a nearby Exxon station and two occupants got out and fled into a wooded area. The driver and passenger remained in the vehicle and were detained without incident.

Meanwhile, a K-9 unit and a Fairfax County Police helicopter searched the area for the two people who fled, and Childs was found in the wooded area. When police searched the vehicle, a gun was found in the back seat. The other person who fled wasn't found. Childs was wanted for the following two incidents:

• On Oct. 19 around 6:30 p.m., police went to a home in the 8100 block of Bayonet Way for a reported robbery. Two women, 19 and 18, were involved in argument with Childs during which he assaulted them and took a backpack.
• On July 11 around 11 a.m., police went to a home in the 7200 block of Traphill Way in Gainesville for a reported burglary. A 19-year-old woman said Childs, an acquaintance, entered her home without permission, assaulted her and took several keys from a purse before fleeing.

Anyone with information about the latest incident is urged to call police at 703-792-6500.

Photo: Prince William County Police