News

The former Fairfax County police sergeant who fatally shot Timothy McCree Johnson outside Tysons Corner Center last year has been acquitted of manslaughter following a nearly two-week trial.

However, the Fairfax County Circuit Court jury found Wesley Shifflett, 36, guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm when he fired the shot that killed 37-year-old Johnson on Feb. 22, 2023.


News

An ex-Army soldier has pleaded guilty to killing a woman at her West Springfield home in 1994, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today (Friday).

Stephan Smerk, 52, could face up to 70 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for stabbing and killing Robin Lawrence, a stranger, while he was stationed at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington.


News

The trial for a former Fairfax County police sergeant who shot and killed a D.C. man outside Tysons Corner Center came to a close today (Thursday).

A 12-member jury will now decide if Wesley Shifflett is guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a weapon — nearly two years after the Feb. 22, 2023 killing of 37-year-old Timothy McCree Johnson.


News

A criminal trial is underway in the case against the former Fairfax County police officer who allegedly shot and killed D.C. resident Timothy Johnson outside Tysons Corner Center on Feb. 22, 2023.

Jury selection for the trial began this morning (Tuesday) after a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge denied a bid by Wesley Shifflett’s attorneys to dismiss the indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a weapon.


News

A Herndon man has officially been charged with murder in connection to the 2023 deaths of his wife and another man at their home in the Frying Pan area.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS criminal investigative agent, was indicted today (Monday) by a grand jury for his alleged involvement in the shooting and stabbing that killed Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, a 39-year-old Springfield man, the Fairfax County Police Department and Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced.


News

The former Fairfax County Police Department officer who fatally shot a D.C. man suspected of shoplifting two pairs of sunglasses from Nordstrom at Tysons Corner Center might not face a trial after all.

Defense attorneys for Wesley Shifflett filed a motion in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Friday (Sept. 6) seeking to “quash” the grand jury indictment that charged the former police sergeant with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm for killing Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22, 2023.


News

The driver responsible for a crash that killed two Oakton High School students in 2022 will serve four years in prison, as recommended by a jury in April.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows finalized the sentence at a hearing on Friday (Sept. 6) afternoon and ordered that 20-year-old Fairfax resident Usman Shahid also get three years of supervised probation following his release, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced.


News

A 60-year-old man pleaded guilty today (Friday) to killing his wife outside her West Falls Church home in 1991.

Jose Larazo Cruz pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after prosecutors made the case at a Fairfax County Circuit Court hearing that he stabbed Ana Jurado on April 30, 1991 during an argument over an affair she was allegedly having, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney has released a new data visualization dashboard that organizes and tracks criminal cases across the county.

The Case Overview Dashboard breaks down the cases handled by local prosecutors based on demographic information, case types, charges and the overall volume.


News

Men arrested last fall in connection to two separate killings were both indicted on murder charges by grand juries today (Monday), the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney has announced.

Rami El-Sayed, a 34-year-old Vienna resident, per court records, faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing Cara Abbruscato, a 40-year-old Fairfax resident who was found dead in Burke Lake Park’s campgrounds on Sept. 30, 2023.


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