Cops nab burglar

Residents of Woodbridge can now rest easier.

On Christmas Eve, Prince William County police charged Adrian Dionte Taylor, 23, with 18 home burglaries, Sgt. Buddy Delaney said. Taylor, of no fixed address, got out of prison in September after serving nearly three years on burglary convictions.

One victim of the burglaries, which occurred mostly in Marumsco Hills and Marumsco Woods, was thrilled over the arrest. The West Longview Drive resident found out Wednesday that police had tracked down her mother's stolen wedding band.

"'I was ecstatic, I must have blown out his eardrum," the 63-year-old woman said of the officer who phoned her to tell her the news.

The former New York resident, who chose not to give her name for security reasons, said her apartment in the Bronx had been burglarized several times. But she had not had any incidents since moving to Woodbridge in 1990.

On Dec. 19, after returning from a visit with her grandson in New York, the woman discovered that cash and jewelry—including her engagement ring and two cocktail rings—were missing.

Her reaction was one of anger, having been a victim in the past.

"When you are robbed the first time, you feel violated, and the second time you also feel violated," said the woman. "But after the third or fourth time, you start to get angry. I was furious."

According to the police, Taylor broke into houses when he thought no one was at home. He stole electronics, jewelry, cash, coins and some small hand tools and was selling the items.

Police assigned extra detectives, stepped up patrols and put undercover officers on the streets after a rash of burglaries began in the area in October, just a month after Taylor got out of prison.

Police identified Taylor as a suspect earlier this month after tracking down the sale of some stolen property. On Dec. 23, detectives obtained a warrant for him and caught up with him Wednesday, walking in the Willowbrook subdivision. They say he had just burglarized another house.

After his arrest, police searched his hotel room at Roadway Inn in Woodbridge and recovered some jewelry and other stolen items.

Victims of the string of burglaries lived within walking and biking distance from the hotel, according to police. The burglaries included homes on West Longview Drive, Meridian Drive, Bayview Drive, Kentucky Avenue, Burton Street, Occoquan Forest Drive, Woodside Drive, Forest Lane, Arizona Avenue, Campbell Lane, Columbia Road and California Street.

Taylor is being held without bond and has a court date of Feb. 17.

Detectives said they are investigating Taylor in connection with other burglaries and will be in touch with victims over the next few days.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.