FBI contractor charged with stealing car containing gun magazine from FBI headquarters

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

February 7, 2024 / 4:40 PM EST


Washington — A federal contractor working for the FBI has been arrested after allegedly stealing an FBI vehicle from bureau headquarters Tuesday afternoon. Later, a handgun magazine belonging to the agent who drove the car was found inside the vehicle, charging documents filed Wednesday revealed.

John Worrell, of Virginia, worked for an outside government contracting agency and was assigned to FBI headquarters, prosecutors said, when he allegedly stole the dark green four-door Ford sedan from an FBI garage and drove to another FBI facility in Vienna, Virginia. There, investigators say Worrell displayed the credentials of the federal agent to whom the car was assigned and tried to gain entry to the facility.

Worrell isn't an FBI agent or a law enforcement officer, but he was authorized to be at the bureau's headquarters in Washington, D.C., because of his work as a contractor. He "claimed to have a classified meeting at the Vienna FBI facility," but did not have the necessary access cards, prompting officials to deny him entry there, according to court documents. Worrell allegedly tried to enter the Vienna facility a second time and after again being denied, he spent about 45 minutes in the parking area.

Worrell later provided his real identification to security officials at the Vienna facility, who called the police. Prosecutors alleged that during a consensual search of the FBI-issued vehicle by police, officers uncovered a "loaded handgun magazine" from a fanny pack inside the car that belonged to the unnamed agent who drives the car. Court documents indicated Worrell wasn't aware that the magazine was inside, since he told officers he was not aware of any weapons in the car.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-contractor-charged-stealing-car-gun-magazine-fbi-headquarters/

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The operational personnel at my agency also get "credentials" but the hell if we would leave them in a car, let alone an unlocked one!

[Irish_Dem]

1. My thoughts as well. FBI agent leaves his gun and credentials in a car?

I was in healthcare and if anyone took a patient file outside the building and then left it in their car, they would be fired on the spot.

I wonder what this contractor was trying to do? Obviously gain entrance to another facility for some reason.

[Chainfire]

4. Not a gun, a loaded magazine. The poor agent probably thought he was secure in his own facility...

I once did some construction work inside the secure FDLE building (Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement) I was part of a crew of about 20 men and we had to surrender their I.Ds. on entry. When the work day ended, and the guys tried to pick up their I.D.s, Agents, with handcuffs, met them; several arrests were made on outstanding wants or warrants. The looks on the victim's faces was priceless and I thought the whole thing was hilarious. They let the guys finish the job before arresting them.

It takes a real "jenius" with outstanding warrants to go work in the main law enforcement headquarters in the state.

[Irish_Dem]

6. What exactly is a loaded magazine?

Bullets I imagine. They should not be in his car I would think.
And credentials should be on your person at all times?

That is funny. Outstanding warrants and you go to the top law enforcement building in the state.
Jail is full of not too smart crooks.

The smarter ones tend to avoid getting arrested.

[Kennah]

13. It's metal or plastic sprung fed box to feed ammunition into a firearm

[Irish_Dem]

15. Thank you. Like on TV.

Stealing ammo from an FBI agent.
At least the agent did not leave his gun in the car.

[Kennah]

16. Very true

In terms of an FBI SA leaving a loaded magazine in an FBI vehicle, I think it's a non issue. Leaving their credentials in the vehicle is huge, probably bigger than leaving a gun.

[Irish_Dem]

17. I used to do some consulting work with local police and courts, years ago.

I was just a mental health professional, but rode and worked with the police officers,
so got to know them and how they operated. It was a special liaison program between the local
police, courts and the county mental health facility.

Back then leaving your gun in your car, or not having control of your gun, leaving it unsecured, even when
it was on your person was a very big deal. Yes and leaving your badge and other credentials.
All a big no no.

I remember one young officer got chewed out by a lieutenant for not having the holster holding his gun
properly snapped together. He was also written up.

It was somewhat my fault I felt at the time. I had been asked by the chief of police to interview
a suspect who had been jailed, they brought him to the police station for me to interview.

I am interviewing him and he bolts up from the table and walks out of the interview room, strolls past all police officers
and detectives working in the office. And walks by the young officer without his gun snapped into the holster
properly. So all hell broke loose.

It really wasn't my fault I guess. What was a supposed to do? This was a big suspect and I was a small young woman.
With no police training and no weapons.

There were a number of very close calls, one including an armed robbery at a gas station where my life flashed before my eyes, and I finally decided life in the clinic was safer than life working in the police station.

[Irish_Dem]

2. BTW Bum, thank you for all you do for DU.

Posting all the latest news with the speed of lightening.
And everything else.

Since it is heart week, seems appropriate to thank those here who do so much
to keep the site running so well.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Awwwww....

Most welcome.

I'm a newsie and haven't even had to turn on the TV in weeks!

[Irish_Dem]

5. I don't know how you do it.

As you know because I keep bringing it up, I will never know how the heck you could
post the news of the Queen's death before the British online forums did. The forums that post
exactly 2 seconds after a royal sneezes. But DU had the news first.

My mind is still boggled by that.

At any rate, again thanks Bum for all you do.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. I think I actually got that off of BBC

so someone alerted them to it (although IIRC, there seemed to be a "watch" going on across the country when family was being summoned)...

Gotta keep DU informed!

[Irish_Dem]

8. Yes but you still posted it on DU before the British forums did.

At least the ones I am on. And they have the same access to BBC.
They posted it 10 to 15 minutes after you did.

I thought perhaps you must have made a mistake, silly me.
I should have known better.

So I was in this weird situation reading about the Queen's death on DU instead
of on the British forums.

It is a fact that if I want latest breaking news, the first place I check is DU.
Friends and family even call or text me to find out what I know about a recent news
item and I am the source of information for them thanks to DU.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. I was looking at some of their news channel streams at the time

and there was all the commentary about the anchors "wearing black" that day (I think before it was "officially" announced). So all kinds of speculation was already going on!

I skimmed a headline today about King Charles having "broken protocol" to even announce his cancer diagnosis so I expect there is usually a practice of being tight-lipped about personal matters (which would have included Queen Elizabeth's status), but there are always the "derring dos"...

[Irish_Dem]

10. Yes there had been discussion about news anchors wearing black.

But no formal announcement until I saw yours here.

Oh yes it is against traditional protocol for the monarch to announce health issues.
But King Charles is going to do things his way, not always the way his mother did.
But her death would have been announced as soon as it was released.
I don't know what happened.

So there I was on the British forums knowing the Queen had died.
No one else is talking about it at all. I thought I should keep my mouth shut.
I am just an American.

Then 10 minutes later all hell breaks loose. At least I was prepared for it.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Wow. LOL

Who knew about we "across the pond".

It's that fast internet!

(I know the bigger UK media outlets have "U.S. editions" so it's possible that American reporters working for them there, put the news out ahead of the local editions as a scoop)

[Irish_Dem]

12. That is possible.

Maybe there was a slight delay broadcasting it to the Brits for some reason.
And the US reporters got it out right away.

When I saw your post, I made a beeline to the British forums.
Total crickets. I kept checking to see if you deleted your post,
saying it was a mistake. But you held fast with your post.
You didn't budge. Still crickets on the part of the Brits.
I am going WTF.

Then finally 10-15 minutes later the Brit forums blow up big time.
Complete psychological collapse. Even though the Queen had been ill,
no one appeared prepared.

[petronius]

14. Kinda odd that the headline makes it sound like the magazine is the big deal

But without the gun it's not much more than a paperweight. Seems like the car and the credentials are a lot more interesting...