A Culpeper County man who recently admitted to stealing items from a Ruckersville pawnshop that he entered through a hole in the wall now is facing witness tampering allegations.
Carl Joseph Cutro pleaded not guilty Monday morning in Charlottesville’s federal court to charges of injury with intent to retaliate and using physical force with intent to influence, delay and prevent testimony in an official proceeding, according to court records.
A federal grand jury handed down an indictment Wednesday accusing Cutro of tampering with an unnamed witness on Oct. 7. Cutro, 27, has been held in jail in connection with the Ruckersville theft to which he pleaded guilty in September.
According to the court’s record of Cutro’s arraignment on Monday, his defense attorney told the court that Cutro had a conflict with someone at the jail and asked to be moved to another facility. It is not immediately clear whether the alleged victim in the witness tampering case was a fellow inmate or if the incident had anything to do with Cutro’s theft case.
Cutro faces up to 10 years in prison on firearms and other charges in connection with the December 2009 break-in. Authorities have said six handguns, jewelry and money were taken from the store. Some of those items were later pawned in Charlottesville, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
One of the stolen revolvers was found near the scene of a homicide in Norfolk, although authorities haven’t commented on whether the gun was involved in the killing.
The hole connected the bathroom of the pawnshop with an empty business next door. The owner of the shop has said she believes Cutro made the hole.
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