THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090465
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
One man pressed a handgun against Tonia Wayne's head while another pointed his gun at her husband, Robert. The men demanded the couple's car keys and, minutes later, disappeared with their 1987 Honda Accord.
Are the Waynes still shaking with fear? Are they red with rage? No. They're laughing.
``It's just too comical,'' said Tonia on Wednesday. ``They got the raw end as far as I'm concerned.''
The car, she said, was a carjacker's nightmare. The gas tank was on ``E.'' The left front headlight was out. The cellular phone was disconnected. The CD player skipped. The clutch was bad. And its personalized tags read FRKD OUT. Translation: Freaked Out.
The most prized possession in the gold four-door was a car seat for the Waynes' 20-month-old son, Julian. ``Everything else they stole was messed up,'' Robert said.
The Waynes, both 26, had just returned from the supermarket Tuesday night to their apartment in the 600 block of Westover Ave. Tonia had already carried in one load and was returning to help Robert, when a man appeared at the front door.
He first told her he was helping with the groceries. But then he pulled a gun and demanded the car keys. What happened next, she said, could have been scripted for a TV sitcom.
Tonia told her gunman that Robert had the keys. Meanwhile, Robert had lied to the other bad guy, saying he'd given the keys to his wife.
``I tried to bluff them,'' Robert said. ``I thought if it's taking too long with . . . the keys, they'd flee.''
For Tonia, it was ``like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. He's got the keys! No, she's got them.''
Finally Robert, still at gunpoint, thought it only prudent to give up the ruse and the keys. His gunman also swiped his wallet, which contained no cash or credit cards. Robert kept those in his front pocket. The other thief tapped Tonia on her head with his gun, kicked her in the rear and ordered the couple to walk down the street.
Then their clunker was gone.
The Waynes ran back to the apartment, where two friends had been watching ``Cops'' on TV. Julian was asleep in the bedroom. Robert called 911.
Police had not located the car Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman said. Officers were looking for two black male suspects. One was described as 20 years old, 5 feet 8, 180 pounds, wearing a sweatshirt and light pants. The other, about 17, was described as 5 feet 10, 140 pounds, with medium brown complexion, and wearing a sweatshirt and light pants. Both wore Starter-style jackets and carried silver handguns.
The Waynes, both 26, were packing to move to Toledo, Ohio, when their car was stolen. Robert has a new job there as a computer consultant.
The move is still on, Tonia said. They will rent a car for the trip west.
Meanwhile, the trusty old Accord should be easy to spot, she said. A small plastic skull with black hair and a voodoo sack were hanging from the rearview mirror.
And, of course, there were those distinctive plates: FRKD OUT. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Jim Walker, Staff
``They got the raw end as far as I'm concerned,'' says Tonia Wayne,
of the two gunmen who stole a car from her and her husband, Robert.
The 1987 Honda Accord had a bad headlight, a bad CD player, a bad
clutch - and the licence plate FRKD OUT.
KEYWORDS: CARJACKING by CNB