Every case is different, and past results are no guarantee of future success.
Involuntary Manslaughter
The defendant was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a passenger in his vehicle. The defendant was driving on Rt. 28 when he ran a red light. His car was struck as he went through the intersection. His passenger, who was sleeping in the rear of the pickup truck, was ejected through the rear of the vehicle as the truck soared through the air. The passenger died at the scene. This case was tried twice. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. The jury hung in favor of acquittal 9-3.
Result
On retrial counsel argued that the Commonwealth had failed to establish criminal recklessness. The trial judge agreed and the case was dismissed.
Grand Larceny
Sisters charged with shoplifting. The store security personnel testify that the client was a lookout for her sister who was removing store security tags. The judge agreed with counsel that the evidence was insufficient to show that the client was an accessory.
Result
Case dismissed.
Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Second or Subsequent
The defendant was stopped for a traffic infraction. He exited his car and fled on foot. The police chased him through a high drug area where the defendant allegedly threw something from his pocket. A few steps later his shoe flew off while turning a corner and he tripped and fell. The police backtracked and found a baggie containing cocaine near the location of the throw and drugs near the location where the shoe was found. The defendant allegedly confesses to possession of the drugs. Defense vigorously challenged the confession and police version of events.
Result
The jury hung on the charge 11-1 in favor of acquittal.
On retrial the client accepted plea to simple possession of cocaine.
Driving After Being Declared a Habitual Offender
The defendant lived in the Town of Herndon. He has a twin brother. The police testified that it was well known to local law enforcement that the defendant was declared a habitual offender by the Department of Motor Vehicles. On the date of the offense the officer testified that he saw the defendant driving a vehicle. The officer sought a warrant for the offense and arrested the defendant at his home at a later date. At trial the officer testified that he knew the defendant. He also testified that he knew the defendant's twin brother. The twin testified that he was driving the car on the date of the alleged offense.
Result
Not guilty.
Felon in Possession of a Firearm
The defendant, a convicted felon, fought with his brother at their residence. The brother was menacing the boys' mother when the defendant pointed an old rifle at his brother and told him to leave. The brother called the police. The police arrested the defendant. At trial counsel argued the defense of necessity. The definition of the necessity defense includes the following elements: (1) the defendant acted to avoid a significant risk of harm; (2) no adequate lawful means could have been used to escape the harm; and (3) the harm avoided was greater than that caused by breaking the law.
Result
Not guilty.
Rape and Object Penetration
The defendant was charged with raping his roommate. Witnesses testified that they came upon her naked running from the apartment in a state of hysteria. The complainant claimed that she was drinking with the defendant when she lost consciousness and awoke when he was raping her. The defendant claimed that it was consensual encounter and that she stopped him when they began having sex. The complainant claimed to be extremely intoxicated at the time yet she was able to converse with her work colleagues by telephone prior to the alleged rape. The defendant testified in his defense.
Result
Not guilty.
First Degree Murder
http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavtx/2559004.txt
The client was accused of strangling his wife at her work place. He was seen with her prior to the discovery of her body. The defendant was arrested in New York where he tried to kill himself. He wrote a full confession. The defense mounted a heat of passion defense which the court rejected. The defendant testified in his defense.
Result
Guilty. The defendant was sentenced to 40 years.
Robbery x2
The defendant was charged with robbery. The Commonwealth alleged that the defendant robbed his estranged girlfriend when she confronted him with alleged infidelity. Another young woman supported the testimony of the complainant. Counsel was able to successfully attack the credibility of both young women.
Result
Not Guilty.
Hiring of Illegal Aliens and Harboring Illegal Aliens
The defendant and his wife were charged with harboring and employing illegal aliens. Counsel successfully argued that the evidence was insufficient to prove harboring.
Result
Not Guilty of harboring. Guilty of hiring illegal aliens. No Jail.
Rape Second or Subsequent, Three Counts of Forcible Sodomy
The defendant was convicted on multiple offenses and sentenced to three life sentences. The case was appealed and sent back to the trial court for retrial. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/va-supreme-court/1060274.html. The eighteen-year-old victim, a drug addict, was acquainted with the defendant as her supplier of illicit drugs. On the date of the offense the defendant left a message on the victim's answering machine advising her that he had "an amazing amount of cocaine" and that she should come over to the house. The complainant went to the defendant's house the next morning. The defendant escorted the complainant to the basement where she saw a mirror covered with what appeared to be cocaine. As the victim observed the powder, the defendant ordered her to remove her clothing prior to using the drugs. She initially refused, but did remove her clothing when she saw the defendant was carrying a knife. Thereafter, the defendant forced her to engage in fellatio, cunnilingus, and sexual intercourse. Upon leaving, she immediately reported the incident to her high school guidance counselor. The defendant maintained that he tricked the complainant into having consensual sex when he offered her phony cocaine. The complainant testified that after the attack she went directly to the cocaine. The police arranged for a recorded phone call between the defendant and the complainant where he maintained that it was consensual sex and that nobody would believe her.
Prior to trial counsel was able to successfully argue that the defendants' prior convictions for rape and sexual assault should not come into evidence during the trial. The trial lasted three days. The jury deliberated for 13 hours.
Result
Guilty.
Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Minor
The defendant was a custodian in an elementary school. The Commonwealth alleged that he groped a child while he was working at the school. The police interrogated him for three hours. At the end of the interrogation he allegedly confessed to the crime. The Commonwealth played the video to the jury and counsel cross-examined the officer. Counsel argued to the jury that the alleged confession was bogus.
Result
Not Guilty.
Embezzlement
The defendant worked as a delivery man for Airborne Express. The defendant was responsible for the delivery of three separate shipments of American Express traveler's checks, valued a $35,000, which were diverted and did not reach their intended destination. The Commonwealth presented evidence that the checks were usually packaged in a particular fashion and asked the jury to infer that the checks were packaged.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/va-court-of-appeals/1331490.html.
Result
Guilty.
Residential Burglary and Grand Larceny
The defendant was charged with daytime burglary and grand larceny. The defendant's truck was found stuck in the mud in the back yard of the victim's home. There was evidence that someone went to great lengths to get the car out of the mud. There were not keys in the truck and the ignition was intact. The truck was missing a license plate. The house had been entered and personal property of the homeowners was found stacked up on the back porch. There were muddy boot prints throughout the house. A witnessed testified to seeing a young African American running on the highway adjacent to the home. He was carrying what appeared to be a license plate. The witness did not identify the defendant as the man that he saw running. The same day the defendant personally reported his car stolen from a parking lot at a metro station in Maryland. He reportedly has a license plate in his hand. He was wearing athletic gear but he was not muddy or dirty. The defendant testified in his defense.
Result
Not Guilty of breaking and entering. Guilty of grand larceny and sentenced him to six months in jail.
Assault on a Police Officer
The defendant was charged with Assault on a Police Officer. The defendant was with a group of his friends in a cul de sac. The police were called because a citizen complained that there were a group of young men making trouble on the street near a party. The police arrived and approached the defendant. They told him that he must leave the area. The defendant questioned why he needed to leave. The police then claimed that they smelled marijuana and they asked to search the defendant. The defendant denied the request to search his person. At this point, the police had already placed their hands on the defendant and he pushed their hands away. When this occurred the police officers tried to take the defendant to the ground using force. The defendant fought the officers until he was maced. Counsel argued that the police had no legal justification to force the defendant to allow a search of his person.
Result
Not Guilty.
Home Invasion Robbery and Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony
The defendant was charged with a home invasion robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The defendant and three friends spent the entire night out partying. In the morning around 8:00 am they say a house where the lights were on and the front door was open. They entered the house and charged upstairs in an attempt to rob the occupants. One of the occupants was a grandmother with a baby in her arms. Prom allegedly pointed a gun at her and demanded money. The four fled the home. The crew was arrested a short time later. Prom, after Miranda, confessed to the entire crime. The confession was videotaped. At trial the defendant claimed that he did not confess and if the did he was forced to confess. The jury viewed the videotape. The defendant testified in his defense.
Result
Guilty.
Sexual Battery, Attempted Rape and Abduction with Intent to Defile
The defendant was charged with attempted rape, aggravated sexual battery, and abduction with intent to defile. The defendant was at the home of his female friend. He was accompanied by his friend who was confined to a wheel chair because he had no arms or legs. All three were in the basement smoking marijuana and drinking beer. The defendant and the complaining witness were sitting on the bed. The complaint alleges that the defendant attacked her and stripped her clothing. She alleges that she began to scream as the defendant attempted to rape her. She testified that the defendant ejaculated on the bed. At this point her mother entered the basement and struck the defendant on the head with a frying pan. The defendant grabbed his clothing and his friend and fled the apartment. At the trial the Commonwealth also called the defendant's friend. He refused to answer questions from the Commonwealth or the defense. The defendant testified. He stated that the complainant wanted to have sex with him. They started to remove their clothing when the complainant asked the defendant to wheel his friend into the next room. The friend did not want to go, according to the defendant, which caused the complaint to scream. The mother came down and saw the situation and struck the defendant. The police testified that they did not find any DNA on the bed. They also testified that the complainant never told them that the defendant ejaculated.
Result
Not Guilty of the felony charges and guilty of the lesser included misdemeanor of assault
This case was also noteworthy because the defendant was on probation at the time of the offense for two felony charges of breaking and entering. Counsel was able to get those convictions overturned prior to the trial described above based on a procedural defect in the charge.
Robbery
The defendant was charged with robbing a convenience store. The store clerk testified that an African American male entered the store and selected some items to purchase including a bag of chips. He placed these items on the counter and then produced a firearm and demanded the money. The clerk complied and the man fled. At trial the clerk could not identify the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime. The police, however, lifted a single finger print from the chips. A finger print examiner testified that he could find six matching points. He then concluded that the latent print matched the defendant. The Commonwealth presented a video of the robbery to the jury. The video was a stop time video taking a shot every three seconds.
Result
Guilty.
Assault and Battery
The defendant was charged with assault on a young woman. The defendant had left his dogs in his vehicle for an undetermined amount of time in a covered parking garage. He went to his vehicle to allow the dogs out for a walk prior to leaving. When he arrived he found the complaining witness standing in front of his vehicle blocking his exit. He had parked his truck in a manner that the dogs could not get out of the vehicle unless he moved the vehicle forward. The complainant refused to move. The defendant returned with his girlfriend and asked the woman to move. She refused. The woman and another witness testified that the defendant lowered his shoulder and bowled her over. The defendant testified that he put his arm up and guided her out of the path of the vehicle.
Result
Not Guilty.
Robbery and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony
The defendant was charged with robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The Commonwealth's witnesses testified that the defendant used a gun to rob them and then fled in a car. After cross-examination of the witnesses by counsel the Commonwealth offered a misdemeanor plea to the defendant.
Result
He pled guilty to possession of stolen property. No jail.
Rape Second or Subsequent
The defendant and the complaining witness were acquainted. On the night prior to the alleged rape the defendant was a visitor in the home of the complaining witness. He spent approximately three hours in the home socializing with the woman. The complainant testified that he was drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. They spent most of the time in the living room and a short time in a room upstairs. The complainant testified that she asked the defendant to leave due to the late hour. She testified that he was hesitant to leave but that he left without any problems. She watched television in the living room where she fell asleep. During the night someone entered the home and held her down on the sofa and raped her. She never saw the assailant's face. She did hear his voice and she could not identify the voice with the defendant. She also testified that the assailant picked up one of a few lighters on the coffee table and lit it in order to take something from her purse. The assailant fled and she called the police. She was transported to the hospital where a sexual assault exam was conducted. DNA was recovered from the pillow where she was sleeping. A forensic exam was conducted and the examiner concluded that the defendant could not be excluded.
At trial the Commonwealth's expert testified that the amount of DNA found was the equivalent of 5 cells. The Commonwealth called three DNA experts to testify about the accuracy of the DNA testifying. The defense called on expert who attacked her conclusions. The defendant did not testify.
Result
Hung jury
Attempted Car Jacking and Robbery
A motorist stopped at a gas station for gas in the early morning hour. While he was filling his car with fuel the defendant allegedly approached him and asked for money. The motorist refused and the defendant allegedly struck the motorist and stole his cell phone. The defendant then allegedly attempted to get into the vehicle and drive away. At that time the motorist was able to remove him and chase him off. The defendant testified at trial that he only asked for money and the motorist attacked him.
Result
Not Guilty
1st Degree Murder
The defendant was charged with stabbing his girlfriend to death inside their apartment. The defendant was found face down on the ground below the second story balcony when the police arrived. He had been cut in the neck. He had blood on his shirt and blood on his boots. The victim was found inside the door to the apartment. He neck had been cut. There were bloody footprints throughout the apartment that matched the boots worn by the defendant. The defendant told police, "She killed me so I killed her." He later denied making the statement and claimed that someone snuck in and killed the victim. The trial lasted three days.
Result
Guilty of lesser charge of Second Degree Murder 35 year sentence.
1st Degree Murder, Abduction with Intent to Defile and Rape
The victim was found behind a utility box in a wooded area near the highway. Her neck was slashed. There were bloody palm prints on the utility box and a large pool on the concrete pad where the box was located. The victim was last seen with the defendant at a nearby liquor store. The defendant was located and arrested. He denied the allegations. DNA taken from the victim matched the defendant. At trial counsel argued that the fingerprint evidence was unreliable due to the deteriorated nature of the prints found at the crime scene. The judge allowed the prints into evidence.
Result
Guilty.
Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Minor less than thirteen
The defendant was charged with sexual abuse of a minor. The defendant denied the allegations. The only witness was the thirteen years old girl. She testified that her step father had sexually assaulted her during an hour of play. After cross-examination the Commonwealth offered a plea to a non sexual charge and the client accepted. No jail was imposed.
