Police charge pair with ‘bogus’ holdup

BY KEITH EPPS

The former manager of a Stafford County restaurant has been accused of enlisting her ex-boyfriend in a staged robbery designed to steal money from the business, police said.

Stafford deputies responded to a reported robbery at the Ponderosa on U.S. 17 (Warrenton Road) late Aug. 4.

The manager told police that she was closing for the night when an armed black man wearing a ski mask came in the back door about 9:50 p.m.

He put a gun against the back of her head and led her to the main office, where he demanded that she open the safe, according to the story.

After getting an undisclosed amount of money, the woman said, the robber took her to the parking lot and made her point out her vehicle.

She said he then made her drive him to the nearby Exxon station near Olde Forge, where he got into an SUV and was supposedly last seen heading toward Interstate 95.

Kennedy said Detective Todd Nosal investigated the incident and determined that the robbery report was bogus.

He arrested the manager and her alleged accomplice last week, and the woman was removed from her job.

Brianna Darcy Knoff, 28, of Spotsylvania is charged with embezzlement, grand larceny, conspiracy, filing a false report and obstruction of justice.

A preliminary hearing for Knoff is set for Nov. 14 in Stafford General District Court.

Robert F. Clarke, 22, who lives in the Olde Forge area, is charged with grand larceny and conspiracy. His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 17, according to court records.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404

kepps@freelancestar.com

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