Released Prisoner Steals Truck From Wolf Trap, Drives To New York, Buys Some Weed: Police

VIENNA, VA – John Lee Crenshaw has been indicted for theft of government property and damage to government property after he briskly went from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center to Wolf Trap Farm Park and, police say, availed himself of a Dodge Ram.

According to court documents, Crenshaw had been arrested by a Virginia State Trooper after a vehicle pursuit in Fairfax County on July 3, 2025. He was released from the facility, 9 miles from the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, on July 9.

On July 12, an employee arriving for work at the Wolf Trap maintenance yard discovered the lock to the gate leading to the maintenance yard was missing and that someone had broken into and rummaged through an office at the yard. A 2019 Dodge Ram that had been parked in the yard with the keys inside was also missing.

The Dodge Ram was equipped with an EZ pass toll transponder. Through it, police were able to trace the movements of the truck as it traversed the Dulles toll road, passed through Baltimore’s Fort McHenry Tunnel, and arrived in Farmingdale, New York.

There, security cameras at the Planet Nugg marijuana dispensary showed the driver of the purloined Ram wearing a green helmet and bright red reflective vest – National Park Service clothing that had been inside the truck when it was stolen, Park Police say.

On July 15, Suffolk County police in New York responded to a call that someone was terrorizing a house and found Crenshaw and the truck. He was arrested, the truck was traced, and he was ultimately charged with theft of and damage to U.S. government property.

Crenshaw was indicted on two counts in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia May 7. His trial is pending.