A Manassas man faces felony theft charges after allegedly taking his then-girlfriend’s rental car from a hotel in Alexandria more than six years ago.
The victim is a Canadian citizen and reported the incident to the Alexandria Police Department on July 7, 2020. The victim told police that she flew in the day before from Canada to see her boyfriend, who she’d met in January, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.
The victim told police that her plane landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at around 4 p.m. on July 6, 2020, and that she rented a red 2020 Toyota Corolla with Michigan plates. She said her boyfriend drove the car to his mother’s house, then to a hotel in the 6200 block of Duke Street in Alexandria’s West End. After dinner, the couple went back to the hotel around 9 p.m. and went to sleep. She told police that she woke up at around 10:30 p.m. to find her boyfriend gone.
The victim told police that she texted her boyfriend on WhatsApp and he responded that he was dropping off a friend and would return within a half hour. He stopped responding to her texts and never returned with the vehicle. The victim later went to his workplace, a Home Depot in Fairfax County but was told he’d quit several weeks before.
“[The victim] stated she wishes to press charges and will come back to the U.S. for court,” according to the affidavit. “She stated they were planning on getting married … but she does not want to get married anymore. She did not give him permission to take the car. The rental agreement is in her name only. She did not give him the keys.”
The suspect was arrested on Aug. 26 and was released on recognizance. He goes to court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 28.
