courts | FFXnow

Court rejects petition from police officer fired after fatal Tysons shooting

Published July 24, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated August 3, 2023 at 4:41PM

Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

(Updated at 4:30 p.m. on 8/3/2023) The former Fairfax County police officer who reportedly shot and killed D.C. resident Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22 in Tysons lost a court petition seeking reinstatment earlier this month.

Wesley Shifflett’s petition alleging that the county violated his due process rights and its own policies during a grievance review was rejected by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Shannon, who affirmed County Executive Bryan Hill’s conclusion that the Fairfax County Police Department had followed proper county procedures.

News

UPDATED: Construction on I-495 toll lanes can continue during lawsuit, judge says

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 7, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated April 7, 2023 at 2:11PM

I-495 North approaching the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Georgetown Pike exits (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) Construction on the widening of the Capital Beltway (I-495) can continue while a lawsuit filed by McLean residents works its way through the court system, a federal judge ruled this morning (Friday).

The Northern Virginia Citizens Association had urged U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to issue a preliminary injunction against the project that would halt all work until further environmental analysis is conducted.

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Case on 2021 shooting incident at Sully’s Pour House moves forward

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 30, 2023 at 3:00PM

Sully's Pour House in Herndon (via Google Maps)

The case against a man who allegedly fired a gun at Sully’s Pour House in 2021 is moving forward.

A status hearing has been set for Monday, April 3, a spokesperson for Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office told FFXnow.

Countywide

County plans self-help legal resource center, which it says will be a first for Virginia

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 24, 2023 at 11:15AM

The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

In response to calls for additional legal assistance, Fairfax County is poised to establish a self-help resource center in the library of its courthouse complex.

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (March 21), the board approved a board matter that would allocate $96,000 in fiscal year 2024 to support the project. The board matter was proposed by Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk and Chairman Jeff McKay.

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JUST IN: Man indicted for murder of Fairfax nonprofit founder Gret Glyer

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 18, 2023 at 11:45AM

DonorSee founder and CEO Gret Glyer (via DonorSee/YouTube)

An Arlington man was indicted by a Fairfax County grand jury yesterday for allegedly shooting and killing Gret Glyer, founder and CEO of the nonprofit crowdfunding platform DonorSee.

Joshua Danehower, 33, faces felony charges for murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney announced today.

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Florida man pleads guilty to assault on flight to Dulles Airport

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 10, 2023 at 2:45PM | Updated January 10, 2023 at 4:52PM

Airplane in flight (via John McArthur/Unsplash)

(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) A man from Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today to assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with the crew on a plane that was headed to Dulles International Airport in October, federal prosecutors announced.

Cherruy Loghan Sevilla, 24, exhibited “erratic and disruptive behavior” during a United Airlines flight from Miami to Dulles on Oct. 4, at one point preventing a flight attendant from getting to her jump seat and groping her, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said.

News

Driver charged after pedestrian killed in Seven Corners parking lot

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 1, 2022 at 9:30AM

One of the two drivers involved in the Seven Corners crash that killed Maryland father Albert Sweat will face criminal charges, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Wednesday).

Yansi Martinez Gonzalez, a 26-year-old resident of Falls Church, was charged on Tuesday (Aug. 30) with reckless driving and driving without a license for her alleged role in the fatal Aug. 18 crash, where two cars collided and one hit Sweat as he was walking in a parking lot in the 6200 block of Arlington Blvd.

Countywide

JUST IN: Man convicted of sexual abuse at Annandale day care given life in prison

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 26, 2022 at 12:10PM

The Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A man who sexually abused children for years at a home day care in Annandale has been sentenced to life in prison, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced today (Friday).

Elwood Lewis Thomas, a 38-year-old man from Alexandria, will serve four life sentences and an additional 36 years in prison after being convicted last year on multiple counts of rape, aggravated sexual battery, and sexual penetration with an object, according to Descano’s office.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published August 17, 2022 at 7:30AM

A mural surrounds the Booz Allen Hamilton headquarters in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

County Offers New Covid Vaccine — “Starting this week, adults 18 years of age and older who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine and are interested in getting one, can now make an appointment for the recently authorized Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. Due to limited availability, Novavax will only be offered by appointment only.” [Fairfax County Health Department]

Teen Takes Stand in Springfield Murder Trial — “A teenager on trial in the killings of two Fairfax County high school students took the stand Tuesday and said he was defending a friend when he opened fire inside a Springfield, Virginia, home last year…Ersheen Elaiaiser, 17, was shot twice in the chest and 16-year-old Calvin Van Pelt was shot once in the back at a home in the 8000 block of Winding Way Court, prosecutors said. Both teens died.” [NBC4]

Countywide

Appeals court sides with transgender woman in lawsuit over treatment at Fairfax County jail

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 16, 2022 at 3:00PM | Updated August 18, 2022 at 4:56PM

The Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) A transgender woman’s lawsuit alleging discrimination at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center will be allowed to move forward in a potentially landmark decision in the fight for trans rights.

Former inmate Kesha Williams can pursue her complaint arguing that the harassment she experienced at the county jail violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, a U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in an opinion released today (Tuesday).