Plea deal in works for alleged ‘blond bandit’
The Northern Virginia woman dubbed the “blond bandit” for her role in a series of armed bank holdups last year is expected to plead guilty, according to court records. A Monday filing in federal court in Alexandria says a plea hearing is scheduled April 5 for Stephanie Schwab. Schwab, of Manassas, was arrested in November after a police chase on the Capital Beltway following a bank robbery in McLean. At the time, authorities had been on the lookout for her for two weeks in connection with a Prince William County bank robbery, as well as another bank heist and carjacking in Fairfax County. In Maryland, she was wanted in a Baltimore County carjacking. She has confessed to the crimes. according to court documents. Schwab was indicted last month on several counts of bank robbery and transporting a stolen vehicle.
Schwab has ties to the MS-13 gang and testified in a 2005 murder trial involving gang members.
D.C. stabbing suspect arrested
D.C. police have identified the man arrested in Sunday’s stabbing near the U Street corridor. Jonathan Rodriguez, 24, was charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, police said. The stabbing occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday at 14th and T streets NW, police said. The victim was conscious and breathing when officers arrived.
Serious crime down in Alexandria
Alexandria police say they had 58 fewer serious crimes in 2011, bringing the number of these crimes to the lowest level since 1966. The city had fewer homicides, burglaries, larcenies and aggravated assaults in 2011, though the number of rapes, robberies and auto thefts increased. The total number of serious crimes reported to Alexandria police last year was 3,612 — down 1.6 percent from 2010.
– Emily Babay and Naomi Jagoda
