Manassas Man Receives Lenient Sentence After Plea Deal in Mall Shooting, Jailhouse Beating Cases

A Manassas man who brought an Uzi to Manassas Mall got a lenient sentence after Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth offered him a sweetheart deal to close out two separate cases related to the mall shooting and a separate case where jail officials alleged he participated in a jailhouse beating with five other men who cornered and beat three members of a rival gang.

Daevon Russell, 19, of 9306 Taney Road in Manassas, who at the time, was on pre-trial probation for a 2023 Manassas City shooting that left another teen paralyzed from the neck down, went to the Manassas Mall on July 9, 2024, armed with the Uzi and got into an altercation with another group of teens in the food court.

The altercation spilled outside into the mall parking lot when the shooting began. An innocent bystander and one of the combatants suffered gunshot wounds. The stipulations of his earlier pretrial release required him not to possess weapons, and Virginia law bars those under 21 from possessing handguns.

Originally charged with six felonies and six misdemeanors, Russell faced decades in prison. Ashworth’s agreement dismissed all of the felony charges and gave him a total of one year in jail and four years of Local Offender’s Probation for the misdemeanor charges and allowed him to retain both voting and gun rights. Russell admitted to owning the gun but did not get charged with possessing it under the age of 21.

Ashworth told Potomac Local News that there may have been issues with the case. “The prosecutor handling any case must always consider the strength of the evidence, the availability and willingness of witnesses to testify, the chances of succeeding at trial, the likely sentence if we are successful at trial, and the victim’s position regarding the outcome of the case as we evaluate how to proceed with a case. It is always our intention to seek justice and keep the community safe.”

Ashworth, when asked about Russell keeping his gun rights, which are normally removed from those convicted of felony offenses, said, “If there are consequences regarding his gun rights, you’ll have to look at the appropriate code sections.”  Virginia code does not prevent those convicted of only misdemeanor charges from further possessing weapons.

Despite being sentenced to one year in jail and only being in custody for six months, Prince William Adult Detention Center officials confirm Russell’s confinement for all five cases ended on January 9, 2025, just one day after Circuit Court Judge Angela Horan and General District Court Judge Che’ Rogers accepted his plea agreement. He is still being held without bond for the 2023 shooting where he is scheduled to appear at trial March 3, 2025 to answer to those charges.

Both men injured in the Mall shooting have recovered.