ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) â A judge on Friday placed the prosecution of two U.S. Park Police officers accused of fatally shooting an unarmed motorist in Virginia under federal jurisdiction.
State and local prosecutors argued unsuccessfully at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that the involuntary manslaughter cases against officers Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard should remain in the Virginia court system.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton means local prosecutors can still pursue the case, but it will be heard in federal court rather than state court.
Fairfax County Commonwealth s Attorney Steve Descano obtained indictments last year against Amaya and Vinyard in the 2017 shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, after a stop-and-go chase on the George Washington Memorial Parkway near the nation s capital.
Fairfax County Commonwealth s Attorney Steve Descano obtained indictments last year against Amaya and Vinyard in the 2017 shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, after a stop-and-go chase on the George Washington Memorial Parkway near the nation s capital.
Descano indicted the pair after the Justice Department opted against filing criminal charges. The federal investigation of the shooting languished for years, and prompted accusations from Ghaisar s family and numerous elected officials that federal authorities were stonewalling.
Federal authorities declined to cooperate in the local grand jury s investigation.
The officers sought to have the case removed from state jurisdiction, citing their status as federal officers. They argued that they have immunity from state prosecution under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because they were acting as federal officers when the shooting happened.
A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge has overturned the 2019 conviction of a Black D.C. firefighter, saying the case was built on false representations from the arresting county police officer.
The opinion and ruling from Judge Daniel Ortiz was expected after he announced Friday he was inclined to rule in favor of the defendant, Elon Wilson.
Ortiz wrote Wilson had “demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that a fraud was committed upon the Court in obtaining Wilson’s guilty plea.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano had filed a motion in support of Wilson’s petition to vacate judgment and release Wilson from prison.
Elon Wilson to be released from prison after case brought by Fairfax Officer Jonathan Freitag is dismissed washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Alleged racial-profiling by cop has judge inclined to release former DC firefighter from prison
Elon Wilson has spent 20 months behind bars after arrest by an officer prosecutors now call a liar. Author: Bruce Leshan Updated: 4:57 PM EDT April 16, 2021
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. A former D.C. firefighter convicted of gun and drug charges could be out of prison in days in what is shaping up as a potentially historic racial profiling case.
The Fairfax County prosecutor said he’s likely to ask a judge to throw out as many as 400 cases involving an officer he says was a “bad cop,” including the case against former firefighter Elon Wilson, who has spent the last 20 months in prison.