Robert E. Sheffler III is in a heap of trouble. Besides being charged last week with attempted abduction, the Chantilly man is also accused of two other offenses. And although he's only 21 years old, he's already a convicted felon.
The most recent incident that landed him in handcuffs occurred last Tuesday, Aug. 17, around 7:45 p.m., in the Southgate Industrial Park, off Willard Road in Chantilly. According to Fairfax County police, a woman, 42, was getting into her parked car in the 4500 block of Singer Court, when a pipe-wielding man approached her and tried to force his way into her car.
Police later reportedly identified this man as Sheffler, of 14509 Swiss Air Place in the Chantilly Meadows community. However, they say he wasn't able to complete the crime because the woman began screaming and he fled. Helped by witnesses and a helicopter, police quickly found the suspect in some nearby brush and arrested him. The victim was uninjured.
Sheffler is currently being held without bond in the Adult Detention Center, pending his Sept. 28 court date for this offense. However, police have levied two other charges against him, as well. He's charged with domestic assault and also with probation violation.
On Aug. 14, 2002, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison (five years incarceration, with 42 months suspended). His punishment stemmed from a 2001 offense and subsequent conviction for distribution of a controlled substance (narcotics). If Sheffler is convicted of the new charges, some of the time previously suspended from his 2002 sentence could be added back for him to serve.
<tgl>— Bonnie Hobbs