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Tag: steve descano

  • Herndon man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2024 shooting of teenage boy – WTOP News

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    A Herndon, Virginia, man has been found guilty in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy in March 2024.

    A Herndon, Virginia, man pleaded guilty Monday in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy in March 2024.

    Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Ismael Cruz Delcid, now 20, faced charges of voluntary manslaughter in the case.

    Cruz Delcid was sitting in a car in a parking lot on Coppermine Road on March 20, 2024, when he saw two teenage acquaintances, according to prosecutors. He spoke with them, and when the conversation escalated, Cruz Delcid shot the teenage boy, later identified as Michai Malave, twice.

    Malave was taken to the hospital, where he later died. The other teenager was not hurt in the shooting.

    Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, at the time, described Malave as a “student in good standing” at Westfield High in Chantilly.

    Police said Cruz Delcid then ran into the woods, where he got rid of the gun and his clothing, then took public transportation and a rideshare to his girlfriend’s home. He turned himself in to police the next day.

    He was charged with second-degree murder and later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

    “My heart breaks for the victim’s family,” Descano said in a statement. “His parents deserved the chance to see him graduate high school and pursue his dreams. He had his whole life ahead of him, and I hope that this conviction allows everyone who knew him to continue healing from this terrible loss.”

    In June, Cruz Delcid’s trial resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury.

    Cruz Delcid is expected to return to court Jan. 9 for sentencing and faces up to 10 years in prison.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • 89-year-old who fatally shot wife while she was sleeping pleads guilty to manslaughter – WTOP News

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    An 89-year-old man who shot his wife multiple times while she was sleeping in a recliner chair at their Chantilly home, killing her, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

    An 89-year-old man who shot his wife multiple times from close range while she was sleeping in a recliner chair at their Fairfax County, Virginia, home, killing her, pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and weapons charges.

    Douglas Sommer faces a total of 15 years in prison in the killing of Marilyn Sommer, who was 87 at the time of her death in February. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and unlawful discharge of a firearm and is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 9.

    According to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, Douglas took his .32 caliber Herstal 1922 pistol and went into the den of his home on Pennypacker Lane, where Marilyn was sleeping in the recliner. He pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger five times, striking her several times in her head and chest, Descano’s office said in a news release.

    When first responders arrived, prosecutors said, Douglas calmly stated he killed his wife. Their daughter, who was at the family home to help her parents move into an assisted living facility, later told police her father did not want to move.

    “Marilyn Sommer’s long life ended in her own home, at the hands of her own husband,” Descano said in a news release. “This is a tragic outcome for the whole Sommer family.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Thomas Robertson

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  • Chantilly man sentenced to 10 years in prison after breakthrough in 27-year-old cold case – WTOP News

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    A Chantilly, Virginia, man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for sexually assaulting a jogger in 1998.

    A Chantilly, Virginia, man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a jogger in 1998.

    Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced in a news release that Edward Pottmyer, 60, was determined as a suspect in the 27-year-old cold case after DNA evidence positively matched.

    In 1998, Pottmyer assaulted a 48-year-old woman who was running on a bike path in the Fair Lakes area, implying he had a knife. He sexually assaulted her and then ran away.

    Detectives in the investigation were able to match DNA evidence from the woman’s body to beer cans recovered from Pottmyer’s garage, Descano’s office said.

    “This is the type of scenario that usually only exists in our nightmares, and certainly not in
    Fairfax County,” Descano said.

    He was arrested and charged in June 2024. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery and one count of abduction in July of this year.

    Pottmyer has ties to two other sex offense cases in 2000 and 2004.

    In the 2000 case, Pottmyer broke into the home of a 66-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her as she slept. The victim woke up and fought the suspect, who police say fled after jumping from a second-story balcony.

    In the 2004 case, Pottymer exposed himself to a 51-year-old woman while standing in the backyard of her home in Burke. The victim yelled and he ran away.

    “After nearly 30 long years, the victim of this horrific act is finally receiving the closure she deserves,” Descano said.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Park Police officers who killed Bijan Ghaisar 6 years ago remain on leave, sue Interior – WTOP News

    Park Police officers who killed Bijan Ghaisar 6 years ago remain on leave, sue Interior – WTOP News

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    More than six years after two U.S. Park Police officers shot and killed unarmed driver Bijan Ghaisar in Fairfax County, the officers — who were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing — have now filed a federal lawsuit against the Interior Department.

    More than six years after two U.S. Park Police officers shot and killed unarmed driver Bijan Ghaisar in Fairfax County, the officers — who were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing — have filed a federal lawsuit against the Interior Department.

    The agency took steps to fire officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya in 2021, but the officers remain on paid administrative leave. Their lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in D.C., asks a judge to order the Interior Department to make a final determination, saying the officers are suffering “significant career and financial consequences, including damage to their reputation, loss of overtime pay, and the ongoing stress.”

    In November 2017, Vinyard and Amaya followed 25-year-old Ghaisar’s Jeep Cherokee in a slow-speed chase down George Washington Parkway, after Ghaisar drove away from a fender-bender. The chase ended in the Fort Hunt neighborhood, where the officers fired 10 shots at Ghaisar.

    In 2019, the Justice Department announced it would not pursue federal charges against the officers, saying it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully violated Ghaisar’s civil rights, and that it would not have been able to disprove the officers’ claims that they acted in self-defense.

    In 2020, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano secured manslaughter indictments against Vinyard and Amaya. However, in 2021, federal judge Claude Hilton dismissed the charges, saying there was no evidence that the officers acted with “malice, criminal intent, or any improper motivation,” and that the decision to shoot Ghaisar was “necessary and proper under the circumstances.”

    In 2021, the officers were notified that the Interior Department planned to terminate their employment, but no further action has been taken, and the officers remain on leave.

    The new lawsuit claims the Interior Department’s “unreasonable delay in issuing a final disciplinary action has damaged the Officers’ careers with the U.S. Park Police. It has caused them a loss of pay, promotion opportunities, career advancement, and has resulted in great stress and hardship.”

    Vinyard’s attorneys, Daniel Crowley and Katelyn Clarke, and Amaya’s lawyer, Edward Wenger, say their clients are hamstrung in fighting their proposed removal because they can’t file an appeal or seek arbitration since a final decision has not been rendered.

    WTOP is seeking comment from the Ghaisar family about the lawsuit.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Lead Fairfax Co. prosecutor calls Gov. Youngkin ‘boneheaded’ over gun vetoes – WTOP News

    Lead Fairfax Co. prosecutor calls Gov. Youngkin ‘boneheaded’ over gun vetoes – WTOP News

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    Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano slammed Gov. Glenn Youngkin on guns, using the word “boneheaded” when describing the governor’s recent vetoes.

    The lead prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia, slammed Gov. Glenn Youngkin on guns, using the word “boneheaded” when describing the governor’s recent vetoes.

    It came after Youngkin announced earlier this week that he’d vetoed 30 pieces of gun-related legislation.

    While Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat, said he was pleased that the Republican governor did not veto a bill that would create new restrictions related to firearms that have a serial number that has been scratched off. He told WTOP that Youngkin “did make a lot of, in my opinion, boneheaded decisions when it comes to common-sense gun laws.”

    Descano said he felt that the governor “made really, really poor decisions” related to firearms.

    The governor’s office fired back.

    “The commonwealth’s attorney in Fairfax County routinely sides with criminals over victims in Virginia and undermines public safety in Fairfax,” said Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter. “The governor signed public safety bills that will make it harder for criminals to use guns in the commission of a violent act and protect the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms.”

    Specifically, Descano took issue with Youngkin vetoing legislation that would allow a judge to prevent someone’s significant other from possessing a gun if that person is convicted of assault and battery.

    Under current law, only spouses or direct family members can be banned from having a gun due to domestic abuse.

    Descano and others who want to change the law have labeled it “the boyfriend loophole.”

    Another one of Youngkin’s vetoes Descano took issue with involved a bill that would create a program meant to train law enforcement on proper procedures when it comes to carrying out the red flag law.

    The red flag law gives police and the courts the authority to remove guns from people who pose a threat to themselves or others.

    “I’m concerned that the governor vetoed some common-sense gun bills that are public safety-focused, that would really help prosecutors like myself build safer communities and get guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” Descano said.

    In a statement, Youngkin said the bills he signed would help protect public safety and the bills he amended have the potential to make it harder for criminals to use guns.

    The ones he vetoed would trample on citizens’ constitutional rights, the governor said.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Nick Iannelli

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  • Northern Virginia man sentenced to 25 years for murder of his landlord – WTOP News

    Northern Virginia man sentenced to 25 years for murder of his landlord – WTOP News

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    A Fairfax County, Virginia, man who pleaded guilty in the 2021 murder of his landlord was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.

    Emily Lu, 72, of Lorton, is missing. (Courtesy Fairfax County Police Department)

    A Fairfax County, Virginia, man who pleaded guilty in the 2021 murder of his landlord was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.

    Brian Sayrs, 28, received a total sentence of 40 years, with 17 years suspended for second degree murder and two years for concealing a dead body for the murder of 72-year-old Emily Lu.

    Lu was last seen on Jun. 3, 2021. She was reported missing after she didn’t show up for work.

    Detectives determined Sayrs lied to them about his where he was in the days after Lu’s disappearance and became the prime suspect.

    Sayrs took police to her body 51 days after she went missing and confessed to her murder. Lu’s body was located in a wooded area near Dudley Drive and Laurel Crest Drive in Lorton, about two miles from her home, where Sayrs lived.

    In August, Sayrs pleaded guilty to her murder in court.

    “We may never know all the details of this tragic incident,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement, following sentencing. But “we do know that today, the person responsible for Ms. Lu’s murder will finally be held accountable.”

    “My heart breaks for Ms. Lu’s family, and for the members of our community who tirelessly searched for Ms. Lu for nearly two months,” said Descano.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Luke Lukert

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