A jury on Wednesday found a 31-year-old Reston man guilty in the murders of two people at a 2020 Halloween party in Dale City.
Jurors convicted Karriem Jackson of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, four counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony and one count of maliciously discharging a firearm in an occupied building, Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth’s office said in a news release.
A sentencing hearing is set for Dec. 5.
The shooting occurred about 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2020, at a house party on Bristol Court. Officers responding to a shots fired call arrived to find two victims, 24-year-old Christopher Alan Johnson of Alexandria and 25-year-old Frank Chineji Sapele of Arlington, dead of gunshot wounds.
Two others, a 23-year-old Triangle man and a 24-year-old Fairfax woman, were hospitalized with serious injuries but survived.
Detectives learned Jackson had been in an argument that later turned physical with a resident of the house, Ashworth said.
“Mr. Jackson pulled out a handgun and proceeded to hit the resident over the head with it,” the release said. “Mr. Jackson was then told to leave the party and the residence. At that time, Mr. Jackson fired multiple rounds into the crowd, ultimately killing two and injuring another two partygoers.”
Using Jackson’s cellphone data, Prince William County police were able to track him to a townhouse community in Fairfax.
Members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force conducted surveillance on the home and later took Jackson into custody.
During a search warrant, several clothing items matching the description witnesses provided to the police of Jackson’s clothing were collected, the release said.
“Gun violence will not be tolerated in Prince William County,” Ashworth said in a statement. “Two people were slain in an act of premeditated killing at a house party, no different than any other house party in our community. It has been five years, but justice has finally arrived for the families of Frank Sapele and Christopher Johnson.”
This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today. Image via Google Maps.
