“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 KJV.

The definition of a snare is to entrap somebody by alluring deception, a situation that is both alluring and dangerous. Satan victims are not criminals, nor do they intend any wrongdoing; they are just good people who get weak at the wrong time.

I recall an occasion whereby I was assigned to investigate the theft of an automobile, along with the victims’s wallet and some personal jewelry – the incident occurred over the previous weekend.

The victim was an upper-middle-class white male in his mid-forties who held an excellent job in Washington, DC. I will call him John. He lived in a beautiful home, was married, a good family man, and had several
children. The weekend of the incident, John’s wife and children were out of town visiting her relatives, leaving John alone with time on his hands.

When I contacted John to meet with him to begin my follow-up investigation, he pleaded with me not to come to his home where the incident occurred. He did not want his neighbors to recognize my unmarked yet obvious police vehicle or me as a detective. Instead, John wanted to meet with me in a remote shopping center from his residence. John explained that he was home alone and lonesome on that Saturday night. He decided to drive to Washington, DC, to have a cocktail. While enjoying his drink, he met an attractive and intelligent female.

A social conversation ensued, and after a time, John suggested to Joan that they return to his home in Fairfax and continue their cocktails there. John went on to explain that he drank too much and passed out. When he awoke, he found his wallet, jewelry, and the car had vanished, along with the female companion.

Three weeks later, John’s car was involved in an automobile accident; the driver was male. The driver (I will call him Wayne) was arrested and incarcerated in the Washington, DC Jail from my posted lookout. John’s car had been badly damaged and was stored in the Metropolitan Police Impound Yard.

I responded to police headquarters and reviewed Wayne’s criminal record, which was quite lengthy. My follow-up review revealed that Wayne was a notoriously well-known transvestite who had an extensive arrest record for law violations while cross-dressed as a female. After interrogating Wayne, he quickly confessed to his involvement in my investigation and provided a supporting statement consistent with John’s account of the incident.

As a male, Wayne was homely, and I couldn’t picture him as an attractive woman.

I assembled a photograph line-up, including Wayne’s photo as a female, and showed it to John. He immediately identified Wayne as the female he had taken to his home for the evening. John’s wrecked car was recovered, but his money and jewelry were long gone; Wayne used those to purchase street drugs.

Wayne was returned to Virginia for prosecution, and John had to appear in court as the victim to testify.

Of course, that was the very last thing that John wanted to do or ever believed he would have to do.

Nevertheless, I concluded that he had to report his incident to save face with his family.

My responsibilities were completed with John; thus, I did not have further conversations with him, and I never knew the impact of this incident on his family life.

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians
6:11 NIV.

Faith columnist Keith Throckmorton, Fairfax County Police (Ret), can be reached at kandpthrock@gmail.com