DATE: Tuesday, September 23, 1997           TAG: 9709220151

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Public Safety 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

CRIME LINE

NORFOLK

During the past several months, lids to storm drains have been stolen throughout the city. They are valued at $60 each.

Investigators believe the 75-pound lids possibly are being sold as scrap iron.

Among the most heavily hit areas: Stonebridge Crossing, 32; Chesapeake Manor, 25; and Reservoir Avenue, 10. A total of 80 have been stolen thus far.

Residents have reported seeing a suspicious white pickup truck in the areas where the thefts have occurred.

A pair of ornate bronze gates were stolen from the entrance to a Victorian mausoleum in Elmwood Cemetery.

The 1892 ``gingerbread'' gates are 2 feet by 18 inches and 2 inches thick, with green patina and leaf and vine decoration.

The gates were last seen in place Sept. 4.

PORTSMOUTH

On Aug. 27, about 9 a.m., the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in the 2000 block of Victory Blvd., was robbed.

A KFC employee carrying a bank deposit bag was approached in the parking lot by a man carrying a gun. The employee was forced to give up the money bag. The suspect then fled toward the Independence Square Apartments.

The suspect is described as black with a light to medium complexion, 25 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall and 160 to 180 pounds. He was wearing blue jeans, a red-and-yellow plaid shirt and a black ball cap.

SUFFOLK

On Sept. 14, a lone gunman went to a home in the 100 block of Maury Place where he approached a 62-year-old man who was in a garage.

The suspect pointed a small handgun at the man and forced him to get down on his knees and then his hands were bound with plastic ties.

The gunman then took the man into the house where he confronted an 86-year-old woman and demanded money.

After being given a small amount of cash, the man fled through the garage.

The suspect is described as white, in his 20s, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing dark clothing and a stocking mask.

VIRGINIA BEACH

427-0000

On July 3, the TAF Group building was destroyed by arson. It was the second time in 1 1/2 years that TAF's offices have been set ablaze.

Seventy firefighters arrived at 3:30 a.m. and battled the two-alarm fire for 19 hours at the business at Ansol Lane and Landmark Square.

Damage to the building and its contents was estimated at more than $2 million.

HAMPTON

On Aug. 19, about 10:30 p.m., a fire was reported at the Farm Fresh Supermarket located in the 2200 block of W. Mercury Blvd.

When firefighters arrived, they found the building ablaze and had to call for additional equipment and firefighters to extinguish it.

Investigators have determined that the fire, which burned into the early morning hours, was deliberately set. It destroyed the building and contents causing an estimated $1.5 million in damage.

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