More charges vs. man who sparked manhunt in April
Posted: December 8, 2012
The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — A Frederick County man who prompted a manhunt in April before eventually surrendering was indicted Thursday on two new charges.
Ronald Benjamin Vivadelli, 29, of the 100 block of Fries Loop Road, previously was indicted in Frederick County Circuit Court for eluding police, and now faces additional charges of grand larceny and possession of marijuana.
His next court date is 9 a.m. Feb. 21.
Authorities said the indictments stem from an incident that began around 4 p.m. April 20, when members of the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force carried out a “controlled delivery of marijuana” to Vivadelli.
According to a search warrant filed in Circuit Court, police watched Vivadelli as he picked up the package — delivered by a U.S. Postal Service inspector — at a Frederick County house.
The warrant states that the package contained about three pounds of marijuana.
When police later attempted to stop Vivadelli as he drove with the package on Front Royal Pike (U.S. 522), he sped away, authorities said at the time.
According to the warrant, he then drove his vehicle into a wooded area off Macedonia Church Road and abandoned it — along with the marijuana.
Authorities cordoned off the area, and officers with dogs and weapons conducted a manhunt — which included a helicopter.
Police were operating under the assumption that Vivadelli was armed, authorities previously said, because a holster for a gun was found in an abandoned Volkswagen.
It was later determined that the gun and holster, along with the Volkswagen, belonged to Vivadelli’s brother-in-law, and while the holster was in the vehicle, the gun was at the home of its owner and not in Vivadelli’s possession.
During the search of Vivadelli’s home, police said they found more marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
— Contact Melissa Boughton at mboughton@winchesterstar.com