For Immediate Release: March 8, 2023

On February 13, 2023, the Grand Jury for the City of Alexandria returned an indictment related to the theft and use of credit cards. Patrick Lynn Edwards, a 43-year-old resident of Arlington, Virginia, and a licensed Virginia attorney, was charged with Credit Card Theft-Felony, Credit Card Fraud-Felony, and Credit Card Fraud-Misdemeanor. The charges arose from the alleged theft of credit cards from an Alexandria office building on multiple occasions in 2022 and the alleged subsequent use of the cards at multiple locations in Alexandria and Arlington.

Edwards was arrested on these charges on February 15, 2023. At the same time, he was arrested upon warrants from Arlington County charging him Grand Larceny with the Intent to Sell-Felony and Possession of Stolen Property-Felony. He has also been charged with one count of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute-Felony. The Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria has been designated to prosecute all criminal matters involving Mr. Edwards in Arlington County.

Felony Credit Card Theft is an offense which carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years of incarceration. Felony Credit Card Fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years of incarceration in prison. Misdemeanor Credit Card Fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 12 months in jail and/or a fine of not more than $2500.

Grand Larceny with Intent to Sell is an offense with carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years of incarceration. Possession of Stolen Property carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years of incarceration. Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute carried a maximum potential penalty of 40 years of incarceration. The total maximum penalty of all currently extant charges is 95 years and 12 months of incarceration.

The charges in Arlington are set for a preliminary hearing on April 19, 2023. A trial date has not yet been selected for the charges in Alexandria. All persons charged with a criminal offense are presumed to be innocent. The fact that a person has been charged with an offense is not evidence that he is guilty and the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving each element of every charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Rule 3.6 of the Virginia State Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys states, in pertinent part: "A lawyer participating in or associated with the… prosecution … of a criminal matter that may be tried to a jury shall not make or participate in making an extrajudicial statement… that the lawyer knows, or should know, will have a substantial likelihood of interfering with the fairness of a trial by jury." Therefore, the Commonwealth is prohibited from discussing the evidence, its trial strategy, or its work product prior to disposition of this matter.