A Falls Church man could spend decades in prison following his conviction in connection to the non-fatal road rage shooting of an e-bike rider near West Ox Road in the Fair Oaks area earlier this year.
Milad Attai, 26, agreed to plead guilty yesterday (Monday) to malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney announced.
The victim, a man from Centreville, was riding his e-bike at around 5:29 p.m. on May 28, when he was cut off by the driver of a Toyota Camry near Tanoak Way and West Oaks Drive, not far from I-66. Police previously said that a “brief verbal exchange” between the two followed.
Attai then exited the Camry, fired one shot in the air, then twice at the victim, according to prosecutors, who described the incident as stemming from “road rage.”
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the Centreville man suffering from injuries initially considered life-threatening. He was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he stabilized by the next day.
Attai was later identified based on home surveillance camera footage. He was arrested during a traffic stop, while carrying a firearm that matched bullet casings taken at the scene.
According to court records, Attai was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 17 on charges of malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and reckless handling of a firearm.
A jury trial in the case began on Oct. 19 before prosecutors and the defense reached a plea agreement.
As part of the agreement, the reckless handling charge was dropped, while Attai agreed to plead guilty to the other two charges, both felonies. No sentencing agreement was made between the defense and prosecution.
Attai faces three years mandatory time for the firearm charge and could receive up to 20 years for the malicious wounding charge when he appears for sentencing in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Jan. 8.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a press release yesterday that the “unprovoked shooting” showed that Attai is “clearly a danger to the community.”
“The outcome my office has reached today ensures that he won’t be able to have a gun in the future and that he will face significant punishment for the harm he has caused,” Descano said.
