FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Detectives in Springfield, Virginia, say they've identified a Baltimore woman as a 'sleight-of-hand' thief, and they are hoping someone can help find her.
One incident happened on March 20 around 1:30 p.m. in the 6900 block of Hechinger Drive.
As the victim was returning a shopping cart, a white SUV pulled up. Detectives say the woman, now identified as Cristina Milhaela Paun, struck up a conversation about jewelry with the victim. During the conversation, she slipped a ring onto the victim’s finger and a necklace around her neck.
But the friendly gesture was a scam: during a hug, the suspect swapped out the victim’s necklace for the fake one and took off in the SUV.
Surveillance video from the parking lot shows the encounter, and that was just one of two encounters that day.
Police say there was a similar theft later in the afternoon at another location.
The victim says she was approached by a woman who said it was her birthday and asked for a hug. When they hugged, the woman removed the victim's necklace and then quickly left in a white SUV.
By cross‑checking surveillance footage with License Plate Reader data, detectives linked one of the suspect vehicles to a white 2026 Toyota Highlander registered out of state. A nationwide alert was issued for the SUV.
On March 21, Delaware State Police spotted the Highlander pulling into a shopping center in New Castle and conducted a traffic stop. Inside, troopers found Cristina Milhaela Paun, 21.
She says she is from Baltimore. At the time of that traffic stop, police did not have charges to hold her on.
Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding Paun’s whereabouts or information about any of these, or similar incidents, to call our Reston Police Station at 703-478-0904 and ask to speak with a detective.