An early morning shooting in downtown Manassas on August 23 has now escalated into a broader investigation involving abduction and an attempted robbery. Police say one of the suspects forced a separate victim into a vehicle and tried to steal their car keys shortly after the shooting. That victim has since been found safe.
Joseph West, 31, was arrested on September 3 and is being held without bond at the Prince William Detention Center. He faces charges of abduction and attempted robbery.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. – The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said a 38-year-old cold case involving the abduction and rape of a local gas station clerk has finally been solved—thanks to cutting-edge DNA technology and years of relentless police work.
On August 21, a jury convicted Russell Marubbio, 54, of Florida, for the brutal 1987 assault that took place at a Chevron station on Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge. Prosecutors say this marks the first time in U.S. legal history that rare “somatic mutations” in identical twins’ DNA were used to distinguish and convict one twin.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — A Prince William County jury has convicted Lisa Gaye Myers, 60, of voluntary manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of her ex-boyfriend and tenant, Travis Kelly Deardorff. The verdict reduces her potential sentence to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Myers was initially indicted of first-degree murder for the November 27, 2021, shooting inside her home on Bradford Lane, near Independent Hill. Police said Myers called 911 after shooting Deardorff in the head during an argument. He later died at a hospital.
In Dumfries, police also arrested a 14-year-old boy for a May armed robbery where masked individuals with guns stole shoes during a sale arranged via Instagram. Another armed robbery took place in Woodbridge on August 24, when a teen was held at gunpoint during a basketball meet-up.
Back in Stafford County, multiple DUI arrests made headlines, including a driver caught running a red light while “trying to get to interviews” and another with an open case of beer in the car. An underage driver at a party was also cited for alcohol-related offenses.
A jury has convicted a man of two counts of first-degree murder in a 2020 Dale City house party shooting that left two dead and two others seriously injured—leading a week full of serious charges, arrests, and property crimes across the region.
Separately, police made two domestic-related felony arrests:
A Richmond man hallucinating on Interstate 95 bit a deputy after running into traffic late Friday night, police said. The suspect, 30-year-old Adrian Chiodo, admitted to taking multiple drugs and mistook a deputy for someone wearing “a rubber deer mask,” they add. He was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement, Public Intoxication, and several other offenses and held on a $5,000 bond.
Also this past weekend, a woman rear-ended a car multiple times in the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru and later turned herself in. She’s now charged with Hit and Run and Assault and Battery.
A woman was stabbed during an attempted abduction in a Wawa gas station bathroom early Saturday morning.
Deputies responded to the store at 4527 Plank Road around 6:30 a.m. on August 16, where they found the victim with a knife wound to her hand. She told investigators the suspect, Austin Wayne Wilson, had hidden in a restroom stall and climbed into hers, displaying a knife and trying to restrain her. Her screams caused him to flee.
STAFFORD, Va. – Two Stafford schools were briefly placed on lockdown Monday afternoon after a report of a suspicious person on Parkway Boulevard.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area and secured both Park Ridge Elementary School and North Stafford High School, which together serve nearly 3,000 students, “out of an abundance of caution.” Park Ridge Elementary enrolls about 910 students, while North Stafford High School has about 1,995 students.
A 47-year-old man was shot in the hand early Sunday morning, August 17, in Gainesville during an unclear altercation with a 60-year-old woman. Police responded around 12:13 a.m. to Bluff Point Court and Pine Knott Court, where they located the injured man and recovered a firearm. The woman was identified at the scene. No charges have been announced as the investigation continues.
In Bristow, police have charged a 17-year-old from Aldie with Assault by Mob in connection with a July 25 attack at Jiffy Lube Live. A group attacked the 16-year-old victim after a concert. The teen suspect is the first to be charged in the case.
MANASSAS, Va. – Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office just told Potomac Local News they’ve secured a conviction in a deadly 2024 shooting on Stream Walk Lane, near Route 234 and Interstate 66, near Manassas. Zahir Abdul-Rahman Mujahid, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Horace Roy Johnson III and has been sentenced to 40 years in prison—with more than 19 years suspended.
The shooting happened the night of November 23, 2024, near Balls Ford Road. Police found Johnson dead at the scene, along with shell casings and a pair of red glasses known to belong to Mujahid. Investigators say Mujahid shot Johnson multiple times after a fight broke out.
