Stephanie Lynn Schwab suspected in bank robbery, carjacking
Updated: November 24, 2011 - 06:12 pm
The woman suspected of a carjacking in Tysons Corner and robbing a bank in Manassas is now linked to a Tuesday bank robbery, police say.
On Thursday, the search for 26-year-old Stephanie Lynn Schwab continued as holiday shoppers prepared to descend on malls and shopping centers across the area.
As shopper volume increases, it's not just the police who want her captured.
"If she wants to be desperate and she wants to escape, you never know what she's going to do next," shopper Bruch Kifly says.
Police have two arrest warrants out for 26-year-old Schwab. She is described as 5-foot-3, 130 pounds with green eyes. She also has two facial piercings.
Police are connecting her to a bank robbery at the BB&T Bank at 8432 Old Keene Mill Road on Tuesday.
Police said she entered the bank around 1 p.m., implied she had a weapon and demanded money from the teller. She left with an undisclosed amount of cash and there were no injuries.
On Saturday, a 59-year-old woman was approached by a young woman who said she had run out of gas. The woman gave her a ride at which point the young woman allegedly pulled out a knife and took the car. The car is described as a 2003 silver Acura with Virginia license place number XEK8095.
Schwab previously was in the news when, in 2005, she testified during a high-profile MS-13 murder trial.
During the trial, she described the grim, violent life of being in a gang during five hours on the stand. She said she ran away from her Manassas home at 12 and got pregnant by a MS-13 gang member at 15.
She said she was married with two children and was ready to leave the gang behind. Police say they don't think this latest alleged crime spree is gang related.
Schwab's appearance and connection to the crimes has caught several people off guard.
"Especially (since) she's a young lady," shopper Anna Helmer says. "(She) looks like she's in college and looks friendly...it's the norm."
Last Friday, Prince William County police said a woman robbed the Virginia Commerce Bank on Balls Ford Road.
In surveillance photos, Schwab is seen with a dark colored hoodie over her head. She implies she has a weapon and gets away with cash.
“We don't know what she's capable of, there could be additional crimes committed by this person,” says Lucy Caldwell, Fairfax police spokesperson.
Police ask that the public continue to be on the lookout for Schwab.
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