A Centreville man will spend at least the next six years in prison for killing an 18-year-old outside a Dunkin’ Donuts over a marijuana deal two years ago.
Hassan Kanu, who’s now 20 but was also 18 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced yesterday (Sept. 3) by a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge to 10 years in prison with four of them suspended, following a conviction in March of voluntary manslaughter.
Ten years is the longest possible prison sentence that can be handed down in Virginia for manslaughter, which is a class 5 felony, according to the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney. With four years suspended, Kanu faces six years of active incarceration, along with five years of supervised probation.
“This senseless violence resulted in a tragic outcome,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement. “Broad disregard for public safety will not be tolerated in Fairfax, and that is why my prosecutors argued for the maximum possible sentence.”
According to police and prosecutors, Kanu had arranged to meet Manassas resident Michael Alcantara outside the Dunkin’ Donuts in Centreville (14631 Route 29) on May 15, 2024 to purchase some marijuana from him.
Based on surveillance video taken by a nearby business, investigators determined that Kanu was waiting in Dunkin’ when Alcantara pulled into the parking lot off Route 29 just before 9:30 a.m. Kanu then walked over to Alcantara’s car and got into the passenger seat.
“After approximately 10 minutes in the car, both men exited and exchanged gunfire at each other,” Descano’s office said in a press release.
Fairfax County police responded at around 9:30 a.m. and found both men suffering from gunshot wounds. Alcantara was pronounced dead at the scene, while Kanu was taken to a hospital with injuries described initially as life-threatening.
Though initial reports suggested the suspect had fled on foot, police soon determined that no one else was involved. Two firearms and drugs were found at the scene, FCPD Capt. Kent Bailey said in a media briefing on May 15, 2024.
Kanu was charged at first with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Court records show he was indicted for both those charges as well as robbery resulting in death — a class 2 felony — by a grand jury on Dec. 16, 2024.
During the trial, which began on March 9, prosecutors stated that Kanu fired 13 bullets at Alcantara, who was hit in the back while running away, according to the CA’s office.
“After the shooting, Kanu fled, disposed of his firearm in a storm drain, and returned to the scene, where he pretended to be a bystander who had been shot,” Descano’s office said. “He later confessed to also participating in the shooting.”
Per court records, the robbery charge was dismissed during the trial on March 12, and the jury ultimately issued its verdict on March 18, finding Kanu guilty of the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter but not guilty of using a firearm while committing a felony.
According to a spokesperson for Descano’s office, Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg dismissed the robbery charge after determining there wasn’t enough evidence for the jury to consider it.
In addition, even though it’s a felony, manslaughter isn’t one of the offenses where the firearm charge can be applied under Virginia law, so the jury was instructed to find Kanu not guilty on that count if it found him guilty of manslaughter, the spokesperson explained.
