VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach police say a man was held up in his own home, robbed and had bleach thrown in his eyes.
Now, a woman who was arrested and accused of participating in the attack is speaking to News 3.
News 3 went to the Virginia Beach Jail to talk to Ariel Thompson, 24, from behind bars. She claims she is innocent but said she couldn’t go into certain details about the case.
“I’m wrongly accused,” said Thompson.
A search warrant outlines how back in June of 2023, a man called police and said he was the victim of a robbery after having a woman at his home.
It states four masked men came in the house, held him at gunpoint for an hour, then threw bleach in his eyes and allegedly stole his designer clothes, jewelry, cash and guns.
Thompson admits to being at the house, but said she has no idea who robbed and threw bleach in the victim’s eyes. She said she blacked out and doesn’t remember much of the night.
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Thompson was arrested two weeks later. She is facing the following charges: statutory burglary of a dwelling while armed, robbery with use of firearm, extortion/abduction for pecuniary benefit, conspiracy, participate in criminal act for benefit or direction of gang, and three counts of use of a firearm.
This past November, police also arrested the father of Thompson's child, DeMario Evans. He's facing the same charges as Thompson.
Documents state Evans was allegedly seen wearing the victim’s jewelry in social media posts.
Authorities in Newport News helped with the investigation.
“The police department really did a good job using technology and all their resources, and not only working with different departments to make the community safer,” said former detective and crime analyst Richard James.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order back in October to combat what he called a crisis of gang activity in the state.
“Virginia law enforcement agencies are combating over 650 identified criminal street gangs and criminal organizations. That's a lot. Gangs are real and they are problematic, not only in Virginia but across the country,” said James.
Thompson said she used to be in a gang, but claims to not be in one currently.
Evans' attorney thanked us for our interest in the case but said no comment at this time.
Both suspects are being held at the Virginia Beach Jail with another court hearing scheduled for late January.
