BY PORTSIA SMITH
Vinita Lemmon thought she was being a good Samaritan, but she ended up becoming a victim.
The 66-year-old woman was pumping gas at the Flying J in Caroline County two weeks ago when she heard a man nearby arguing on the phone.
"What do you want me to do? I don't have any money," she heard him say.
The man told the person on the phone he could try to sell his GPS unit to raise some cash.
Knowing what it's like to be down on your luck, Lemmon walked up to the man and offered to buy him a tank of gas.
She said after expressing his appreciation, he told her he'd left his wallet in Roanoke where he had been doing some landscaping work and he didn't have enough money to get home.
She told him she could give him half of the $110 she had in her pocket, but he said he needed all of it so he could get a hotel room.
In exchange, he gave her his GPS and offered to do some landscaping work for her. She agreed and he gave her his name and phone number.
"Alarms started going off in my head when I saw that the number had a Fredericksburg prefix," Lemmon said. "Then I thought, maybe he really needs some help."
The next day, Lemmon received a call from the man asking if she would be home so he could look at her yard.
She told him she had to step out for a few hours but would be back after 5 p.m.
He said he would call back another day.
When Lemmon and her husband returned to their home in Woodford, she found it odd that her dog met her at the car, because he stays inside. Her back door was also open.
She figured her grandchildren might have left it open and didn't think much more about it until two days later, when her husband noticed a dresser drawer missing in their bedroom.
"Every piece of jewelry I've had for 30 years or more is gone," Lemmon said. "Gold chains, diamond rings, a very old wedding band passed down the family--all gone."
After an investigation by Caroline authorities, a Spotsylvania County man was charged Wednesday with six felony counts.
Steven Wayne Saylor, 26, of Partlow is charged with possession with intent to sell stolen property, breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny, grand larceny with intent to sell and three counts of credit card theft.
He is being held at Rappahannock Regional Jail for theft-related charges in Spotsylvania.
Lemmon said a few of her jewelry items have been retrieved. She said the GPS unit she was given had been stolen from a Fredericksburg woman a few days earlier.
Lemmon, who has lived in Caroline for 10 years, said she has installed bars on her doors so no one can get in.
"He destroyed my sanctuary, and I don't feel safe in my own home," she said. "I was just trying to help somebody, and I got duped."
Portsia Smith: 540/374-5419
Email: psmith@fredericksburg.com