
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993                   TAG: 9311240190
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CAR-THEFT VICTIM GOT TAKEN TO CLEANERS

Jeannie Moore was running some last-minute errands and getting ready to travel to New York for Thanksgiving when her plans were soured Tuesday afternoon.

Moore's car, parked in front of a dry-cleaning store on Starkey Road in Southwest Roanoke County, was stolen just after 4:30 p.m. Moore said she left her keys in the ignition and her pocketbook - containing $500 in cash and credit cards - in the car.

Moore said she was inside the cleaners when she heard a woman outside the store shouting to her.

"I turned around and saw someone in my car," Moore said. "The first thing I thought was that this guy was mad at me for parking where I did."

After she realized the man's intentions, Moore said, she ran to the side of her car and began yelling at the man.

"I tried to open the passenger-side door but it was locked," Moore said. "He was having problems getting the car into gear, but he finally got it in reverse and took off." Moore said she had noticed the man standing beside a phone booth when she arrived at the cleaners.

And, it turns out the suspect had been seen in the area for the last several days, according to police.

Roanoke County police officer J.F. Hoover said a search was continuing Tuesday night.

by CNB