A government contractor was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing a vehicle from the FBI’s D.C. headquarters and attempting to use credentials found inside to enter a secure facility in Vienna, Virginia.
John Conrad Worrell III, of Virginia, was charged via criminal complaint Wednesday with two felony counts of theft of government property and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
According to charging documents, at approximately 1:15 p.m. Tuesday an FBI agent returned to where they’d parked their government-issued vehicle at the FBI’s headquarters in D.C. only to find it missing. Surveillance footage showed the vehicle leaving the garage less than an hour earlier.
Shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, the stolen vehicle then pulled into the driveway of an FBI facility in Vienna. The driver of the stolen vehicle, later identified as Worrell, identified himself as the agent the vehicle belong to and attempted to use FBI credentials found inside to enter the facility.
According to investigators, Worrell told a guard he had a classified meeting at the Vienna FBI facility, but was unable to provide access cards that matched the identity of the agent the vehicle belonged to. While attempting to enter the facility, Worrell was wearing a jacket and sunglasses he’d found in the vehicle belonging to the agent.
Worrell was directed to a nearby parking area. He attempted to enter the facility again a short time later and was again denied access after failing to provide the appropriate credentials. He was eventually approached by security guards, at which point he provided his Virginia-issued ID displaying his name as John Conrad Worrell III. Worrell was then arrested by officers from the Vienna Police Department and eventually transferred into the custody of the FBI Police.
During an interview with agents, Worrell reportedly said he believed he had been receiving “coded messages” over a series of weeks indicating he was in danger and that he’d attempted to go to a secure facility where he could be “safe.”
Investigators determined Worrell was employed as an outside contractor at the FBI’s headquarters in D.C. and that he’d reported for work to the building that day. He was familiar with the Vienna facility from a previous visit to the site as part of his employment.
Worrell’s case was assigned for an initial hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey. As of Wednesday afternoon, he had not yet made his first appearance in federal court.