A Warrenton man was shot to death outside a club in Dumfries.
Today, March 23, at 2:08 a.m. Prince William police were called to Club Tempo, 17650 Possum Point Road, where they found 38-year-old Carvell Jarmain Williams suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers provided first aid to the man, who was taken to an area hospital and later died from his injuries.
Two vehicles in the parking lot were also struck by gunfire. No other injuries were reported.
No suspects have been located at this time. Detectives are actively investigating the incident to determine what led up to the shooting. They are seeking to speak with anyone who witnessed the incident or has information to aid in the investigation.
Preliminarily, the incident does not appear to be random.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Prince William County police at 703-792-6500 or submit a tip online at pwcva.gov/policetip.
“[We wanted to allow] those kids who grew up and had a dream to be a police officer,” State Senator Jeremy McPike (D) WFTF Radio. “And what happened was the governor just crushed those kids’ dreams.”
“Peter Newsham, Chief of Police for Prince William County, also advocated for McPike’s bill. He said his jurisdiction is the most diverse part of the state and having Spanish speakers, let alone DACA recipients, on staff can help reach communities that are afraid to speak to cops.”
Police said an 82-year-old man was maimed after a drunken driver collided with him in the street.
On Tuesday, March 12, at 7:55 p.m., police were called to Coverstone Drive and Aaron Lane near Manassas to investigate the crash.
The driver of a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder, later identified as the accused, was turning left from Coverstone Drive onto Aaron Lane when the vehicle struck an 82-year-old man who was attempting to cross the street, police said.
Emergency crews took the victim to an area hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. The accused fled from the initial scene before striking a 2013 Toyota Camry in the area of Sudley Manor Drive and Williamson Boulevard, leaving the car on its side.
The accused fled on foot before being located a short distance away and detained without incident. The accused and two occupants in the Camry were transported to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
On March 18, officers obtained arrest warrants for Miguel Angel Urquilla Cordova, the accused. According to a press release, the suspect left the hospital before police obtained arrest warrants. Now, they’re searching for him.
The suspect lives in the 7000 block of Margate Court, off Coverstone Drive, near Manassas. He’s described as Hispanic, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds, with black bushy hair and brown eyes, and is unshaven.
He’s wanted for two counts of felony hit and run, one count of maiming while DUI, one count of failure to yield to a pedestrian, one count of reckless driving, and one count of no operator’s license
Identified:
The Pedestrian was identified as an 82-year-old man from Manassas.
The driver of the 2013 Toyota Camry was identified as a 26-year-old man of Manassas The passenger of the 2013 Toyota Camry was identified as a 28-year-old woman of Centreville.
All suffered injuries that appeared to be non-life threatening. Police did not disclose additional information about the maiming victim’s injuries.
Henrico County police modified its response to specific service calls and how they are dispatched.
“In the past, our patrol officers have routinely been put in positions or responded to calls for service where they have no legal authority. At times, this has prevented our officers from responding to other priority calls in a timely and efficient manner while also leading to a lack of units available to respond to any given call,” said Henrico Police Chief Eric English in a YouTube video.
Call types where you will see changes include:
- Animal calls (all animal calls placed overnight will be handled the next morning)
- Loud parties or noise complaints (only calls that appear to be violating the county’s noise ordinance will be dispatched)
- Medical emergencies (only if police are needed)
- Service calls (calls about people standing in a street median or homeless people who “appear to be OK”).
- Shoplifting (past-occurred crimes or reports with no evidence to support the allegation)
- Abandoned vehicles
- Marijuana use (calls for marijuana use inside someone’s home)
- Juvenile problems (not crime-related, such as calling a police officer to scold a child)
- Panhandling
The changes have come as police departments across the U.S. have struggled to fill vacant police officer positions since 2020. We asked police agencies in our area if they anticipate making similar changes.
“We offer residents an online or telephone option to file a report, which we can refer people to if needed,” said Prince William police 1st Sgt. Jonathan Perok. The agency patrols Virginia’s second-largest county. He declined to comment on Henrico County’s new policy.
“Rest assured, we do not anticipate changing how we respond to calls anytime soon,” added Fredericksburg Police spokeswoman Sarah Morris. The agency services the independent city of nearly 28,000 people between Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.
The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Amy Ashworth, has announced the successful prosecution of Isaiah McGriff in connection with the July 2022 murder of a woman in Woodbridge. On March 12, 2024, a Prince William County jury found McGriff guilty of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The case, Commonwealth of Virginia v. Isaiah McGriff, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Commonwealth Attorneys Kathleen Bilton and Dircia Schubert.
On July 1, 2022, police responded to a shooting at 13990 Jefferson Davis Hwy (Longview 7-Eleven) in Prince William County, where they discovered the victim, Claudia Morataya, deceased from an apparent gunshot wound to the abdomen. An investigation revealed that Isaiah McGriff, the defendant, was present outside the 7-Eleven that night, along with the victim and others, drinking and socializing before the shooting occurred. A verbal dispute ensued between the victim and the defendant, culminating in the victim throwing a beer bottle at McGriff. McGriff was heard making threatening remarks before later shooting the victim in nearby woods, a press release notes.
The firearm used in the homicide was recovered at a nearby apartment, where McGriff was known to stay. McGriff denied being present near the 7-Eleven during an interview with detectives, but evidence, including footage from a doorbell camera at the apartment building, placed him in the vicinity shortly after the homicide.
McGriff’s sentencing is scheduled for July 25, 2024, before a Prince William County Circuit Court Judge. Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth expressed gratitude for the extensive investigation conducted by police detectives, which provided crucial circumstantial evidence for the case. She commended the prosecutors, Kathleen Bilton and Dircia Schubert, for their dedication in securing justice for Claudia’s murder.
McGriff had several previous charges in Prince William County before the murder, including a robbery at home in 2019, which a judge tossed out.
The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney also acknowledged the essential support provided by Kristen Marek, Deputy Director of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Victim/Witness Program, to the victim’s family. Recognition was also given to the diligent efforts of the Prince William County Police Department detectives and officers involved in the case.
Authorities were alerted to an incident at the Prince William County Government Center located at 5 County Complex Court in Woodbridge on March 7, where a pedestrian was fatally injured. According to crash investigators, the victim, [Redacted at the request of the victim’s family], of Woodbridge, was involved in a collision involving a trailer in the parking lot at around 3:54 p.m.
Police said [the victim] manually moved a small trailer between vehicles when he stumbled and fell. Subsequently, the trailer continued its momentum, ultimately resting on [the victim’s] upper body and leg. Despite managing to free himself from the trailer, he suffered severe injuries in the process.
Emergency crews took [the victim] to a nearby hospital for treatment. Initially released a few days later, [the victim’s] condition took a turn for the worse, and on March 12, he succumbed to complications arising from his injuries sustained in the incident.
Local law enforcement confirmed that [the victim] was not a county employee, and the reason for his presence at the government center remains unknown.
A Prince William County judge dropped a rape charge against a man accused of raping a 10-year-old girl in Dale City.
Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Carroll A. Weimer Jr. dropped the charge on March 6. The suspect, 40-year-old Bernabe Garcia of Woodbridge, was set to appear for a jury trial on the rape charge from March 18 to 21, 2024.
Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth said she had no comment on the case and emailed:
“I do not comment on cases involving juveniles alleged to have been sexually abused as I believe their privacy should be respected. Speaking generally and not specifically about any case, I will tell you that we never “drop” charges – that is not a legal term used when speaking about criminal charges. The Commonwealth may elect to nolle prose or “not prosecute” the charges at this time. This does not prevent charges from being brought back at a later date. The decision to nolle prose a case can be made by a prosecutor for a variety of reasons, such as the unavailability of key witnesses to appear at trial, the need for additional evidence or investigation by the police, the discovery of evidence inconsistent with the original charges, the need for further testing of evidence at the forensics lab, the inability of witnesses to testify, the desire of a victim to not move forward with prosecution, etc. I can assure you that the decision to nolle prose a case is not made lightly and is done in consultation with the victim and the police.”
It’s the second time Ashworth has declined to comment in as many months. Last month, Ashworth refused to comment on The arrest of Jose Rafael Lizama, a 47-year-old resident of Manassas Park, charged in the death of Justin Burns, who was struck and killed while walking near the Old Town Sports Pub in Downtown Manassas on December 2, 2023.
Police arrested Lizama immediately following the crash on December 2, 2023, when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Astonishingly, he was released the next day on a personal recognizance.
Police arrested Lizama a second time on February 2, 2024, when Lizama, this time facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection to Burns’ death. However, Lizama was released on February 5, 2024, upon posting a $5,000 secured bond.
For the rape case, police charged Garcia On February 16, 2023, when detectives with the Prince William County Police Special Victims Bureau concluded an investigation into a sexual assault that was reported to have occurred at a home in Dale City on January 16 and February 12, 2023. The investigation revealed the female victim, who was under the age of 10 at the time of the offenses, was sexually assaulted by the accused on more than one occasion, police said.
Police said Garcia knew his victim. The victim reported the incident to a family member, who contacted the police, prompting the investigation.
Initial findings suggest that the driver of a 2016 Toyota Corolla was traveling southbound on Route 1. at a high speed when the vehicle veered out of control. The Corolla crossed over the median into the northbound lanes, colliding with a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica.
The sole occupant of the Corolla, a 17-year-old male juvenile from Woodbridge, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and a passenger in the Pacifica suffered injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment, with their conditions reported as non-life threatening.
Speed is believed to have been a contributing factor in the collision. The identity of the deceased driver has not been disclosed by law enforcement due to their age. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Those involved in the crash have been identified as follows:
Deceased Driver:
– A 17-year-old male juvenile from Woodbridge was driving the 2016 Toyota Corolla.
The driver of the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica:
– A 42-year-old woman from Manassas.
The passenger in the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica:
– A 46-year-old man from Chantilly.
Prince William County Police Department is offering a reward for information concerning the fatal hit-and-run crash on February 24 in the vicinity of Minnieville Road and Bobcat Court in Dale City.
The incident led to the death of 27-year-old Carla Andrea Mejia, of Woodbridge, who was walking along the roadway. Investigators recovered vehicle parts believed to belong to a 2009-2012 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV or 2009-2013 Kia Sorento SUV, silver or light in color, with possible damage to the front end, wheel well, and/or undercarriage areas.
Despite efforts, the driver and vehicle remain elusive.
The police department is providing a reward of up to $5,000 for pertinent information. The investigation continues. Those with information can contact the Prince William County Police Department tipline at 703.792.7000 or submit a web tip to pwcva.gov/policetip.
From January 1 to February 29, 2024, the police department investigated 17 pedestrian-related crashes, three of which were fatal. The total number of pedestrian-related crashes in 2024 is 55% higher than those seen year-to-date in both 2023 and 2022 and close to, if not more than double, seen in 2021 and 2020.
In 2024, pedestrian-related crashes have been shown to occur more in the morning, during the 6 a.m. hour, and in the evening between the 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours. During the week, Thursdays have seen the highest number of pedestrian-related crashes.
