Suspected thief who likes Target and facial massages led police on chase

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office captured a serial shoplifter after a brief pursuit in Stafford Marketplace.

On January 19 at 7:12 p.m., a Target in Stafford Marketplace staff reported shoplifting. Two sheriff’s deputies were in the area and found the suspect driving a black Mercedes SUV in the parking lot.

The deputy’s traffic stopped the suspect’s car. The suspect drove away as they approached the SUV on foot, triggering a pursuit. The suspect drove behind the Target store, where a woman performed a tuck and roll dive, exiting the moving vehicle.

The pursuit continued along the front of Target, across the access road, and a lap around a Chili’s restaurant also in the plaza. The suspect proceeded into the parking lot of a Bob Evans restaurant next to Chilis. A second sheriff’s duty stopped the suspect’s car, ending the chase.

Michael Vaughns, 63, of Fredericksburg, is charged with eluding, obstruction, possession of a controlled substance, a new count of petit larceny, and abduction for not allowing his female passenger out, police said. The woman who jumped from the car suffered minor injuries.

Vaughns was held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond. The stolen property from the January 19th incident was recovered and returned to Target.

Deputies had been tracking the”smooth” criminal since last month after a series of skin care product thefts from another Target store in the county.

On December 28, the sheriff’s office learned of a shoplifting incident at a Target on South Gateway Drive in south Stafford County. Surveillance video captured the suspect stealing a TheraFace Pro facial massage device valued at $399 from the store on December 24 and December 27.

In both instances, the suspect removed the massager from the packaging. In a not-so-smooth move, the suspect proceeded to use his credit card for a much cheaper purchase, concealed the massager, and exited the store. The trend continued as the suspect stole another massager and a $159 headphone from the exact Target on December 31.

Police identified the suspect as Vaughns and obtained three petit larceny warrants. Vaughns was already wanted in Stafford County for both a failure to appear and a show cause, in Arlington for a probation violation, and in Fairfax for a failure to comply with pretrial.

Deputies served his outstanding warrants at the time he was jailed.