Commonwealth's Attorney | FFXnow

Published August 7, 2025 at 1:45PM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano took a swing at the federal government yesterday (Wednesday), claiming that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is making it harder for prosecutors to effectively do their jobs.

“The first thing that I hear in our community over and over again is, not only does the federal government focus on fearmongering around crime, but they’re taking it a step further now by actually creating a culture of fear around law enforcement,” Descano said.

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Virginia AG Miyares to investigate Fairfax’s top prosecutor over abduction case

By Jared Serre

Published August 4, 2025 at 1:45PM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Andres Caceres Jaldin and AG Jason Miyares (photos via offices and FCPD)

Attorney General Jason Miyares intends to investigate the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office after the attempted abduction of a 3-year-old from Fair Oaks Mall last month.

Virginia Republicans argued Friday (Aug. 1) that Andres Caceres Jaldin, who allegedly swiped the toddler from a play area on July 18 before being stopped on the mall’s second floor, should have been in custody based on previous criminal charges — not out in the community.

News

Man sentenced to jail, fined after viral drag race in Tysons

By Jared Serre

Published August 1, 2025 at 8:30AM

A Cybertruck and a Lamborgini set up for a race on Leesburg Pike at Westwood Center Drive in Tysons (via @ccj_media/Instagram)

One of the drivers featured in a viral video of a Tysons street race last year received a 90-day jail sentence yesterday (Thursday).

Carlos Montero, 38, of Sterling had all but five days of his sentence suspended, in addition to receiving a six-month limitation on his driver’s license and fines totaling $950.

News

Child’s interview can’t be used in Herndon double murder trial, judge rules

By Associated Press

Published July 28, 2025 at 8:30AM

A framed photo of Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, provided by police as evidence in their murder case against him (courtesy Fairfax County Police Department via AP, FILE)

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia circuit judge ruled on Friday that prosecutors’ case against an IRS agent charged with killing his wife and another man cannot include a recorded interview from the defendant’s young daughter.

Countywide

Fairfax restorative justice program to use grant funds to eliminate risk of racial bias

By Jared Serre

Published July 25, 2025 at 1:45PM

Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A Fairfax-based restorative justice pilot program could become permanent after receiving a grant from Microsoft and the Urban Institute.

Adult Accountability for Safer Communities (AASC) is one of 25 nonprofit organizations selected to join the Catalyst Grant Program, which aims to advance the use of data and technology to improve racial equity and reform in the criminal legal system.

News

Burke elementary school teacher loses license over child assault cases

By Jared Serre

Published July 10, 2025 at 2:45PM

White Oaks Elementary School in Burke (via Google Maps)

A former teacher at White Oaks Elementary School in Burke will surrender her teaching license amid accusations that she physically assaulted students at the school.

Elizabeth Yoshimi Nagagata, who previously worked as a special education teacher at the school, entered an Alford plea on June 18 to two misdemeanor counts of assault & battery, allowing her to plead guilty while maintaining her innocence.

News

Man suspected in decades-old sexual assaults pleads guilty, faces 10 years

By Jared Serre

Published July 9, 2025 at 8:30AM

Police say they have connected Edward Eugene Pottmyer, 58, of Chantilly to two sexual assaults and an exposure case (courtesy FCPD)

A Chantilly man could serve 10 years in prison after admitting to his involvement in three cold cases that date back to the late 1990s.

Edward Eugene Pottmyer, 58, pleaded guilty earlier this month (July 2) to one count of aggravated sexual battery and one count of abduction, both stemming from a 1998 incident on a Fair Lakes bicycle path, according to court records.

News

JUST IN: Man convicted of murder for 2021 shooting at Annandale apartments

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 27, 2025 at 12:30PM | Updated June 27, 2025 at 4:18PM

The Fairmont Gardens apartments in Annandale (via Google Maps)

A 21-year-old man is facing the possibility of life in prison for fatally shooting a teen at the Fairmont Gardens Apartments in Annandale over an alleged gang rivalry.

Ezequiel Diaz-Mondragon was convicted yesterday (Thursday) by a Fairfax County jury of first-degree murder for killing 18-year-old Anthony “Tony” Benitez on Feb. 19, 2021, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office announced today.

News

Former FCPS teacher unlikely to serve jail time after groping allegations

By Jared Serre

Published June 4, 2025 at 2:45PM | Updated June 4, 2025 at 4:51PM

Fairview Elementary School teacher John Barger has been charged with sexual assault (via FCPD)

A former Fairfax County elementary school teacher is unlikely to see the inside of a jail cell for allegedly sexually assaulting two of his students.

John Barger, who taught music at Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax Station, received a six-month suspended sentence on May 23, meaning he will only face incarceration if he fails to follow certain guidelines during a one-year probationary period.

News

Police officer who shot, killed Reston woman will not face criminal charges

By Jared Serre

Published April 9, 2025 at 9:00AM

Body camera video shows a Fairfax County police officer identified as Peter Liu pointing his gun at a Reston woman in the VY Reston Heights apartments (via FCPD/YouTube)

A Fairfax County police officer will not face criminal charges for shooting and killing a Reston woman after she struck him with a knife and cornered him in a dead-end hallway last September.

After telling Sydney Wilson numerous times to “back up” while she pursued him with a knife, Police Officer First Class (PFC) Peter Liu fired five gunshots in her direction — an adequate response on Liu’s part, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said yesterday (Tuesday).