Purcellville Police report April 9, 2021

04/04/21 ; 2:41 p.m.         200 Block of F Street                                      Death Investigation

Officers responded to assist rescue for an unresponsive adult found outside of a residence. Medics were unable to revive the patient. The investigation found no indication of anything other than death by natural causes.  

04/05/21          5:30 p.m.         On-Line                                                           Fraud

The victim reported receiving a robot-call regarding a pending $299.00 charge for an auto subscription renewal. The call also gave the recipient the option of calling 800-337-8031 if they wanted to cancel the auto renewal. 

The victim called and spoke to a live person, calling himself “Steve Fox” who directed the victim to access her computer. In reality, the directions allowed him access to the victim’s computer.  He brought up a form that she started to fill out, but became suspicious when it asked for banking information. She terminated the call and unplugged her computer. 

The victim called her bank and learned that there was no access to her accounts. For additional information on how to avoid this type of scam, please see:

https://go.hfcu.org/blog/scam-alert-watch-out-for-subscription-renewal-fraud

04/06/21          6:35 p.m.         100 Block of N. 21st Street                 Domestic Assault and Battery

The victim reported that his girlfriend asked him to come to her residence and bring alcohol and cigarettes. He obliged, taking a $100 UBER ride from Maryland to Purcellville.  Supplied with Vodka and cigarettes, the suspect became increasingly hostile and ultimately physically abusive in direct proportion to her alcohol consumption. 

The victim described a scene in which pots and pans were thrown both around the apartment and at him. It also included the dunking of the victim’s phone in the toilet and continued verbal and physical abuse. As he finally had enough, he went to gather his possessions at which point the suspect struck him with a glass-encased candle, resulting in a severe laceration to his ear. 

 He staggered out of the apartment and knocked on the door of a neighbor, who dialed 911.  Medics responded and transported the victim to the hospital. Warrants were obtained for Malicious Wounding and Destruction of Property. Officers have not located the suspect but the search is on-going.

04/06/21          11:01 p.m.       1200 Wolf Rock Drive                                               Assault and Battery 

The complainant contacted police to report that he was the victim of assault. He reported that on 04-05-21, he and his girlfriend went to the drive through of Dunkin Donuts where they were served at the window by his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. 

The ex was upset at seeing them together and became verbally abusive, before being relieved from the window by a co-worker. 

The suspect proceeded outside and continued his verbal rant as the complainant drove by. Fast-forwarding to later in the evening, when the suspect contacted the complainant to arrange a meeting so they could have a “man to man” conversation.  

While the suspect mentioned several isolated locations, the complainant agreed to meet on the sixth at the Dunkin Donuts parking lot. The two met as scheduled and during a verbal argument, the complainant, in a teenage testosterone fueled lapse of judgement, gave the suspect permission to punch him one time in the face.  

The suspect agreed, but violated the negotiated settlement, by punching the complainant multiple times, before running out of steam. Both parties left without further incident. The complainant contacted the police in the hopes that they would contact the suspect and “scare” him. Officers declined this proposition and instructed the complainant on the process of obtaining arrest warrants should he be so inclined. 

03/07/21          8:21 p.m.         On-Line                                                           Fraud 

The complainant reported investing a total of $60,000 in cryptocurrency via the website newdbsinvestltd.com

He withdrew $20,000 at some point, but was told the remaining investment was worth $450,000. On March 26, 2021, the website and contact portal disappeared from the web. 

A search of the web found many reviews indicating that this and similarly named websites were scams. The complainant filed a report with authorities in Scotland, the purported location of the investment firm. 

For more information and tips on how to avoid investment scams, please see:

https://consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/07/avoiding-cryptocurrency-scam

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