Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares accused Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano today (Friday) of engaging in one of the “most horrific patterns of both incompetency and ignoring victims” that the Commonwealth has ever seen.
An investigative report released by the attorney general alleges that an “alarming pattern of misconduct” by the prosecutorial office has led victims and their families to feel forgotten and lacking in justice.
“Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano has betrayed the rule of law and the very people he swore to protect by turning prosecutorial discretion into deliberate weaponized incompetence,” Miyares said in a press conference outside the Fairfax County Courthouse.
The 34-page report highlights five different allegations against Descano stemming from 16 different cases that were brought in Fairfax, including an alleged abduction attempt at Fair Oaks Mall in July that prompted Miyares to announce plans for an investigation.
The allegations range from violations of victim’s rights and improper plea agreements to violations of due process and “prosecutorial incompetence.”
Miyares, who was joined at the press conference by numerous victims’ family members, noted three instances in which a plea deal was “unwanted” by victims but nonetheless submitted by Fairfax prosecutors.
Prosecutors are required to consult with victims regarding plea agreements and the disposition of a case under Virginia law, though there is nothing in the relevant statute that limits a prosecutor from exercising his or her discretion.
“We found multiple improper plea agreements, as it’s been noted, where they chose to ignore the victims,” Miyares said. “They seek plea agreements so lenient that the court rejects them out of hand.”
The report also claims numerous Brady rule violations by the office, which are alleged when prosecutors don’t disclose all information — including exculpatory evidence — during the discovery period of a criminal case.
In a statement to FFXnow, Descano called the release of the report a “sad, last-ditch political stunt by a man who’s about to lose an election.”
“His lies, half-truths, and distortions don’t change the fact that voters elected me twice to run our justice system this way, and in doing so we’ve kept Fairfax the safest large county of its size in the country,” Descano said. “If the AG doesn’t like how we do things here he’s welcome to run for Commonwealth’s Attorney.”
A Democrat elected in 2019 after pledging to reform Fairfax County’s criminal justice system, Descano has clashed with Virginia’s Republican leaders in the past and faced a recall campaign in 2021 that argued his policies did a disservice to victims. However, he was reelected in 2023 after a heated primary.
Miyares was elected in 2021 as part of a GOP ticket that swept Virginia’s statewide offices and is now seeking a second term against Democratic nominee Jay Jones, a former delegate from Norfolk and former assistant attorney general.
Miyares told reporters today that he will refer the report to the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation, specifically into whether Descano’s office has protected undocumented immigrants “from detection” or “engaged in a pattern of practice in denying us citizens the same rights, privileges and immunities” when determining charges or negotiating plea deals.
Miyares also urged Virginia’s General Assembly to take action on a variety of topics during the next legislative session. He recommended that legislators consider:
- Allowing the state attorney general to take over cases involving sex crimes against minors and sex offender registration violations the prosecutorial discretion of the attorney general’s office
- Revising standards for bail to presume it should be denied “for any violent offense”
- Establishing a working group to analyze compliance with certain victim rights laws.
