Two neighbors claimed they owned a video game console. One had the box and the serial number so Culpeper town police charged the other man--who had the console at the time.
A judge will now have to decide who is telling the truth.
The incident occurred at a South East Street apartment complex on Monday.
A 44-year-old man who lives on the first floor reported to police that someone had stolen his PlayStation2 console while he had been away between midnight and noon Monday. The man said he had locked his door but left both windows open while he was gone.
While Officer Richard McKnight was checking with neighbors to see if anyone had noticed anything suspicious. Timotheus Brian Williams, 30, who lives upstairs, said he had seen two women knocking on the apartment window in question about 12:30 a.m.
According to Capt. Ricky Pinksaw, Williams told McKnight that he had talked to one of the women, whom he identified as the complainant's girlfriend.
During the interview, McKnight noticed a Playstation2 on top of William's TV and, upon inspection, saw what he believed to be recently carved initials on the console.
McKnight then compared the serial number on the game console to the one the complainant produced. The numbers matched, Pinksaw said.
Both men work at the same company, and both claim they purchased the game console at Wal-Mart.
The complainant had the box and the serial numbers, so Williams, his upstairs neighbor, was charged with felony burglary and petit larceny.
Williams is being held pending a court hearing this morning.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com