A second suspect in the day-after-Christmas slayings at a Denny’s restaurant outside Manassas in 2019 pled guilty.
Ryan Thomas Walker, 26, will serve 17 years in prison and then five years probation for his role in the killings. Walker and 25-year-old Jordan Anderson walked into the restaurant at 8201 Sudley Road on Dec. 26, 2019, to kill, police said.
Walker and Anderson held the employees and patrons of the Denny’s against their will while unsuccessfully attempting to get money from the cash register. Upon exiting the restaurant, Anderson shot one patron, while Walker struck Yusuf Ozgur, a food delivery driver arriving to pick up an order, in the head with a baton. Anderson then shot Ozgur, killing him.
Anderson has previously been convicted and sentenced for his role in the murder and robbery. According to the Virginia Department of Corrections website, Anderson is not scheduled to be released until May 2107.
On January 3, 2024, Walker entered a guilty plea to one count of Felony Murder (2nd degree), one count of Aggravated Malicious Wounding, one count of Statutory Burglary while Armed, one count of Attempted Robbery, and two probation violations.
Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Carroll A. Weimer, Jr. sentenced Walker to 50 years and two life sentences in the state penitentiary. He was suspended 35 years and all but two years of the life sentence for a total active term of incarceration of 17 years and placed.
The sentence is predicated on Walker’s good behavior.
“While this plea spares the victims and their families from the trauma of another prolonged trial and the reliving of the events of December 26, 2019, it does not diminish the gravity of the offenses committed that night. Our commitment to justice remains unwavering as we move forward to ensure accountability for the senseless violence and loss inflicted upon the community by these two individuals,” Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth in a press release.
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