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Fairfax County police are searching for a woman suspected in a series of thefts in which women were approached in parking lots, offered costume jewelry and stripped of their real jewelry through sleight of hand.

Four incidents following a similar pattern were reported in Northern Virginia on March 20, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Police said female suspects traveling in SUVs started conversations with women and offered to place jewelry on them.

While putting the costume pieces on the victims, the suspects allegedly removed the jewelry the women were already wearing. They then drove away before the victims realized what had happened.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video and identified a white 2026 Toyota Highlander registered outside Virginia as one of the vehicles involved. Fairfax County police issued a nationwide bulletin for the SUV.

The following day, Delaware State Police stopped the Highlander as it entered a shopping center in New Castle. Troopers detained and identified its occupants, including 21-year-old Baltimore resident Cristina Milhaela Paun, before releasing her.

Fairfax County detectives later identified Paun as a suspect in two of the March 20 thefts. Warrants have been issued for her arrest on felony pickpocketing and robbery charges.

The incidents occurred at:

  • 1:30 p.m. in the 6900 block of Hechinger Drive in Springfield. A white SUV was involved, and Paun was identified as a suspect.
  • 1:30 p.m. in the 13900 block of Metrotech Drive in Chantilly. A black SUV was involved.
  • 3:30 p.m. in the 12900 block of Wood Crescent Circle near Herndon. A white SUV was involved, and Paun was identified as a suspect.
  • 3:55 p.m. in the 6800 block of Commerce Street in Franconia. A black SUV was involved, and police described two suspects: a 50-year-old woman with red hair and gold teeth and a 25-year-old woman wearing a headscarf.

Anyone with information about Paun’s whereabouts or these or similar incidents is asked to call the Reston Police Station at 703-478-0904. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-866-411-8477 or through the county’s online tip service.