A Virginia prison officer died yesterday (Monday) after he was attacked by a man serving time for an armed carjacking in Fairfax County, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) says.
John Holomon Russell, 32, allegedly attacked Corrections Officer Jeremy Lewis Hall around 7:53 a.m. at the River North Correctional Center in southwest Virginia.
Hall was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 40. He had been employed by the state prison system since April 2024.
“The Virginia Department of Corrections will never stop saying Officer Jeremy Hall’s name, and the people of Virginia should never forget him,” VADOC Director Chad Dotson said today (Tuesday) in a press release. “As our agency and our public safety heroes at River North Correctional Center continue to process this unspeakable tragedy, please continue to keep Officer Hall’s family and friends in your hearts and minds.”
Two other corrections officers were also treated for injuries resulting from the incident and have since been released from the hospital.
Prison officials didn’t elaborate on the nature of the attack but described it as “vicious” in an update shared yesterday afternoon.
Russell, who was identified by VADOC as the alleged attacker today, has been serving an 11-year, 11-month sentence at River North primarily for an armed carjacking that occurred in Rose Hill in May 2017.
According to news reports from the time, Russell approached a woman waiting at a traffic light at East Drive and Telegraph Road shortly after 8 a.m. on May 9, 2017 and ordered her out of her SUV at gunpoint. He then drove away in her vehicle, police said.
Fairfax County police officers attempted to pull Russell over, but he sped away, hitting a tree and four cars in the process. He eventually stopped at a dead end and fled on foot.
After an extensive search that delayed the openings of multiple nearby schools, Russell was arrested while walking at the intersection of Fairhaven Avenue and North Kings Highway in Huntington, NBC4 reported at the time.
Prosecutors presented an indictment to a grand jury on Sept. 18, 2017 charging Russell with carjacking, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and eluding the police. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the first two charges on March 19, 2018 and was sentenced to a combined 18 years in prison, though eight years and one month for the carjacking offense were suspended.
The charge of eluding the police was dismissed as part of the plea agreement, according to online Fairfax County Circuit Court records.
Prior to the carjacking, Russell had been indicted by a grand jury in Albemarle County for a shoplifting offense that occurred on Nov. 15, 2016. He was found guilty by a circuit court judge in a trial on Feb. 15, 2017 and sentenced to five years in prison, all but four months of which were suspended, per court records.
VADOC says its Office of Human Resources has been working with Hall’s family “to assist with survivor benefits and connect them to additional resources.”
“Additionally, personnel from various VADOC units across the agency have been present at the facility, or have offered support remotely, standing in solidarity with the [River North Correctional Center] team during this difficult time,” the department said.
An investigation into the incident is still being conducted by the corrections department’s Office of Law Enforcement Services. VADOC says it’s also “fully cooperating” with Grayson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brandon Boyles.
Located in Independence, Virginia, River North houses 1,008 inmates, as of October, according to VADOC’s most recent population report.
Screenshot via Google Maps
