A Chantilly man is facing as much as five years to life in prison after being charged with the February armed robbery of a 7-Eleven store in Centreville. He is Adam John Wirth, 18, of 3000 Virginia Dare Court in the Brookside community.
In March 22 and March 23 affidavits for warrants to search Wirth's vehicle and townhouse for evidence, Fairfax County Police Det. Eric Deane, of the Robbery Section, detailed the case against him.
The crime occurred Feb. 15, at the 7-Eleven at 13830-I Lee Highway, and it was reported to police early that morning, at 3:43 a.m. The victims, who were working at the store, told police that a male entered the business, "brandished a dark-colored pistol at them and demanded money from the store register."
ONE OF THE VICTIMS handed the cash-register till to the suspect, who then fled out the front door with the till and its contents. Afterward, police K-9 officers tracked the robber from the scene, around the west end of the store, and then east along the rear of the shopping center to the area behind the AMF Centreville Lanes bowling alley at 13814 Lee Highway.
In March, Deane reviewed the surveillance tapes from the 7-Eleven. In it, he noticed that the robber wore an "unconventional-type 'mask' (dark-colored with a white patch on top of the head), a black long-sleeved shirt or jacket, faded blue jeans and black-and-white sneakers. He also saw the suspect holding a dark-colored pistol.
The detective investigated further and developed information that the suspected robber was allegedly someone named A.J. who drove a black, Ford Bronco. Deane learned that A.J. and another person parked the vehicle that night behind the bowling alley and then walked behind the other stores before entering the 7-Eleven.
Deane wrote that a check of police department records led him to Adam John Wirth of Chantilly and provided him with Wirth's address. A check of Department of Motor Vehicle Records further indicated that he owns a black, Ford Bronco.
According to the detective, the fact that Wirth and the other man "walked down the rear of the stores before coming into the 7-11 and robbing it is corroborated by the K-9 track and other facts in this case."
In his search of Wirth's home and vehicle, Deane hoped to find the mask and clothing worn by the robbery suspect on the surveillance tape, as well as the gun he brandished. Last Thursday, March 23, police charged Wirth with two counts of robbery and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He has a May 31 court date.