Prince William County judge grants bond to suspected killer

[Updated 12:25 p.m.] A murder suspect is walking free today in Prince William County.

Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Robert P. Coleman granted bond for 18-year-old Angel Alfonso Morales Flores on Wednesday, July 27.

Morales Flores of Woodbridge is charged with the shooting death of 19-year-old David Madison Fowler III, shot and killed June 14 outside a Safeway store on Minnieville Road in Dale City.

Morales Flores faces felony homicide, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to violate the drug control act charges. A magistrate denied him bond immediately following his arrest on July 6.

Newly sworn-in Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Robert P. Coleman granted bond for the suspected killer. Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth said Coleman granted the bond over her offices objections.

Ashworth says Coleman granted Morales Flores a $7,500 cash/corporate surety bond with the highest level of pretrial supervision, including GPS monitoring, a mental health assessment, house arrest and reverse house arrest, no contact with the co-defendant and the victim’s family, no drugs or alcohol usage. Coleman decided the suspect was not a flight risk, she added.

“The Commonwealth Attorney opposes bond in all cases in which it we believe that the defendant is a danger to our community or is a flight risk,” states Ashworth in an email to Potomac Local News. “The judge makes the final decision on bond after hearing evidence and argument from both the Commonwealth’s Attorney and the defense attorney.”

According to Prince William County Board Chair At-large Ann Wheeler, the court held an investiture ceremony on Friday, July 15, when Clerk of the Circuit Court Jacqueline Smith Judge Mary Grace O’Brien of the Court of Appeals of Virginia administered Coleman’s oath of office.

A gunman shot and killed Fowler III at 2 p.m. on June 14. A 911 caller summoned police to Cheshire Station Plaza, 4400 block of Cheshire Station Plaza at the intersection of Minnieville Road and Dale Boulevard in Dale City, to investigate a shooting.

Upon arriving at the shopping center, officers located a te victim suffering from gunshot wounds. Bystanders and officers provided first aid to the man before rescue personnel arrived at the location.

Medics took the man to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, and he later died.

A police investigation revealed that the man and an acquaintance arranged to meet other parties in the above area. During the encounter, one of the other parties fired multiple rounds, which struck the victim.

The other parties then fled in a light-colored vehicle before police arrived. Police collected several shell casings and two firearms at the scene.

Police said the incident was not random.