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Government Contractor Stole FBI Vehicle After Receiving 'Coded Messages,' Documents Say

A government contractor from Virginia stole an FBI-issued vehicle and drove it from Washington D.C. to Vienna, VA, in an attempt to seek refuge after receiving a series of coded messages, court documents show.

FBI

FBI

Photo Credit: Dave Newman Flickr

John Worrell III got into the government-issued  a dark green four-door Ford seda  that an FBI agent had parked in the garage at FBI headquarters sometime Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 6, according to a criminal complaint.

The FBI agent who had parked the car realized it was missing shortly after parking it, prompting an investigation.

Meanwhile, the vehicle was spotted pulling into an FBI facility in Vienna, VA, where Worrell identified himself to security at the facility as the FBI agent that the vehicle belonged to using credentials inside the car, saying he had a classified meeting at the facility, the complaint says.

Later wearing a jacket and sunglasses left inside the car, Worrell couldn't produce access cards matching the FBI agent whose credentials were in the car, and he was directed to visitor parking.

He again tried entering the facility, but was denied access again. That's when security approached Worrell, who ultimately gave them his Virginia ID with his real name. 

Worrell was subsequently arrested by Vienna police and told investigators he believed he had been "receiving coded messages, which appeared in various forms including e-mails, 'stage whispering,' and a variety of different context clues over the course of several weeks, indicating that Worrell was in danger, and thus he was attempting to go to a secure facility where he could be safe,'" the criminal complaint reads.

Worrell was ultimately charged with two felony counts of theft of government property and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.

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