DATE: Thursday, May 15, 1997                TAG: 9705150459

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   72 lines

BEACH POLICE ARREST MAN ACCUSED OF PANHANDLING AFTER MANY COMPLAINTS

Maybe now, her phone will stop ringing.

Restaurant manager Marjorie Jackson has been fielding as many as four telephone calls a day, up to 15 calls a week for more than three years, from concerned people who call her at the Bluewater Seafood & Take-Out restaurant looking for Vernon Jordan.

It's always the same story.

Jordan owes them money, callers say. He approached them on the street and asked for cash to fix his broken-down car, they say. He gave them Bluewater Seafood's telephone number as his work number, claiming to be an employee. He promised to pay them back, they say.

You've been taken, Jackson tells them.

Now that a man known to police as one of Chesapeake's most notorious panhandlers is in jail, Jackson hopes to have more time to devote to her customers and to spend less time on the telephone.

Virginia Beach police arrested Jordan, 35, of the 1300 block of MacDonald Road in Chesapeake, Tuesday. He was charged with a misdemeanor - obtaining money under false pretenses - Virginia Beach Detective Dan Lindemeyer said. Jordan is being held at the Virginia Beach city jail.

Chesapeake police also charged Jordan with two misdemeanor counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. He is being held at the jail on $3,250 bond - $750 bond from the Virginia Beach police, $2,500 from Chesapeake. Jordan was arraigned Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Virginia Beach General District Court for his trial Aug. 4, jail officials said.

Police described Jordan as a nuisance who has convinced dozens of people throughout Hampton Roads to give him money.

``He preys on gullible people, people that have a big heart, who are willing to give a lending hand to the public,'' Lindemeyer said.

Virginia Beach sought an arrest warrant for Jordan, suspecting that he swindled an elderly Virginia Beach couple out of $25 on March 22, Lindemeyer said.

But there have been scores of informal complaints about Jordan spanning more than three years, Chesapeake police Detective Pam Thacker said. Both cities' police departments decided to arrest Jordan after he failed to appear in court Monday for his original trial date.

While police accuse Jordan of running a con game, Jackson says that Jordan's real crime is ruining her restaurant's good name.

``Now we won't be getting all them calls,'' Jackson said. ``It's a relief to have justice served.''

Many of those who call Bluewater Seafood don't believe Jackson when she tells them she doesn't know where Jordan is or how they can get back their money, Jackson said.

``Hopefully, they'll lock him up and keep him,'' Jackson said.

Jordan has been convicted of fraud once before. He was convicted of obtaining money under false pretense April 14 in Chesapeake. He served three days in the Chesapeake jail and was released, Thacker said.

Jordan also was convicted of petty larceny in Norfolk in 1982, Lindemeyer said.

If Jordan is convicted of three misdemeanor offenses, his third conviction automatically becomes a felony, Thacker said.

Chesapeake police have a thick folder filled with telephone messages and complaint letters from people who claim that Jordan beguiled or intimidated them into giving him money, Thacker said. Only a small percentage of people allegedly victimized by Jordan lodged formal complaints, she said.

Thacker said Jordan approaches people on their way out of church, claiming that he's a Christian man in need of a little short-term cash to fix his car. He usually asks for a ride, often increasing his requests for cash with every favor given him.

Virginia Beach resident Frank Dreano filed charges against Jordan. Dreano's testimony resulted in Jordan's serving time in Chesapeake jail last month. Jordan was found guilty of scamming Dreano, 68, out of $35.

``I'm on disability, I broke my neck 24 years ago, so when somebody needs help, I give it, as much as I can,'' Dreano said. ``This guy is a nuisance.'' KEYWORDS: PANHANDLING FRAUD ARREST

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