Woman arrested for stealing money from church

Cortes

A volunteer at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Lincolnia has been arrested for stealing several thousand dollars from the weekly collection as she was counting donations from church members.

Sandra Irene Cortes of Annandale, age 53, was charged with three counts of grand larceny, the Fairfax County Police Department reports.

An employee from the parish office who was suspicious about Cortes’ actions contacted the police on Sept. 7.  Detectives from the criminal investigation section in the Mason Police District set up a surveillance operation and observed the suspect pocketing money from the church collection.


Anyone with additional information on Cortes is asked to contact the criminal investigation section, 703-256-8035, the FCPD, 703-691-2131, or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Solvers.

In other crime news, there was an armed robbery at Bennett Drive and Columbia Pike in Annandale at around 1:20 a.m. on Sept. 17. A man was walking home when he was approached by a stranger who asked for his wallet and then pulled out a gun from his waistband.

The suspect then ran off and was seen heading east on Columbia Pike. The suspect is described as a black male, 18 to 25 years old. He was wearing a gray t-shirt, dark pants, and a baseball cap.