Although one of his charges was dismissed, last week, two of the charges against William Craig are heading to the grand jury. Fairfax County police arrested him, Jan. 9, charging him with three bank robberies.
One of those offenses was committed that day, at the Centreville Bank of America in the Newgate Shopping Center. Police say a man walked into that bank, around 1 p.m., and showed the teller a note demanding money. According to police, the man implied that he had a gun, and the teller gave him some cash.
A lookout was broadcast, and a detective working a previous bank robbery advised officers to keep an eye peeled for the GMC Safari used in that offense, since the suspect descriptions in both robberies were similar. An officer then saw this vehicle on I-66 west and pulled it over.
Police reportedly identified the driver as William Paul Craig, 34, of 7424 Rossville Blvd. in Roseland, Md. They charged him with the Bank of America robbery, as well as with robberies at two BB&T bank branches.
On Dec. 26, a man robbed the BB&T in the Fairfax Towne Center shopping center, off West Ox Road in Fair Oaks. Then on Jan. 2, a man robbed the BB&T in the North Point Village Center in Reston.
Last Tuesday, March 2, in General District Court, one of the bank-robbery charges was dropped. Judge Richard Horan then certified the other two to the next grand jury for possible indictment. If convicted, Craig could receive anywhere from five years to life in prison for each charge.
<tgl> — Bonnie Hobbs