Lake Ridge Man Charged With Three Burglaries

Image: Frank David Merrill Jr. (PWCPD)

The Prince William County police have charged a Lake Ridge man with break-ins at three local stores in which two front glass doors and a front glass window were shattered.

Frank David Merrill Jr., 53, of 12519 Colby Drive, has been charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of destruction of property, two counts of grand larceny and one count of petit larceny. He’s being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail.

The police arrested Merrill after investigating a burglary Tuesday night at a Lake Ridge shopping center. At 10:50 p.m., officers responded to the Festival Cleaners at 12452 Dillingham Square, according to a police report. Other officers were in the area on a disorderly call at an area restaurant; the suspect in that case had walked away from the scene.

While one officer was checking the area for that suspect, the front glass window at Festival Cleaners was found shattered. No suspect was located inside the business.

An undisclosed amount of money was reported missing from the business. The police set up a perimeter in the area, and an officer with a police dog searched for the suspect. They eventually located and detained an individual identified as Merrill.

The police also searched Merrill’s home and arrested him in connection to the burglary at Dillingham Square. In addition, Merrill was charged in two other burglaries reported in the early hours of June 6 on Route 1 in Woodbridge.

In both cases, the caller told police that the front glass door was found shattered. Police checked both stores and found no one inside:

• At 1:16 a.m., officers responded to La Despensa Familiar, a store at 14342 Jefferson Davis Highway. An undisclosed amount of money was reported missing. The store’s surveillance footage showed that an unknown man had entered the store.
• At 2:19 a.m., officers responded to Marumsco Cleaners at 13919 Jefferson Davis Highway. No property was reported missing at the time of the report.