Chief Barry Barnard of the Prince Willam County Police Department looked back on a violent year.
There were 22 murders in the county in 2016, marking the highest murder rate in Prince William County in 15 years. It topped 2006 when there were 16 murders in the county.
A total of 18 of the 22 murder victims in the county knew their killer. Some, like Prince William police Officer Ashley Guindon, were killed in domestic violence situations.
“We lost a brave and courageous police officer who responded to a call and was murdered, along with Crystal Sheree Hamilton, inside,” said Barnard.
Hamilton, 29, was shot and killed inside her home on Lashmere Court in Dale City on February 28, 2016. Police say that after shooting his wife, 33-year-old Ronald Hamilton then turned his gun on Guindon, 29, killing her.
The murder of 23-year-old Pablito Kamara, 23, on May 30, 2016, is the only homicide case from last year that remains unsolved. Pablito was shot sometime after 2 a.m. outside a nightclub on Golanski Boulevard in Woodbridge and was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
Barnard urged anyone with information about the case to come forward. His department continues to vigorously investigate the case, he added.
Eight of the murder suspects charged by Prince William police last year is suspected to be in the U.S. illegally at the time of their arrests. That’s the highest number of suspected illegal immigrants charged with murder in the county since the department began keeping stats on arrested illegal immigrants in 2008.
The chief and his top lieutenants meet with the press in a conference room at the Prince William County Government Center on Thursday morning to release and review the annual crime stats report, as well as take questions from local media.
The overall crime rate in the county continues to decline despite the number of murders, and the county’s exploding population now at 450,000 residents. Crimes against property, burglaries, and larcenies all declined last year.
On the rise last year was the number of robberies and car thefts at 343 and 327, respectively. The number of larcenies from auto, especially where guns are stolen from cars, is also up.
“We need to stop leaving guns in cars,” said Barnard. “There are too many larcenies of firearms, and thieves use the weapons found in cars.”
The number of traffic deaths on Prince William County roadways skyrockets last year to 27, up from 11 the year before. The police chief cited drunken driving, speeding, and distracted driving as reasons for the causes of crashes. Eight fatal crashes in 2016 involved alcohol, up from two the previous year.
The county has recorded more than 30 traffic fatalities in past years, but Barnard admits last year’s high casualty numbers are concerning.
The full 2016 crime stats report is available online.
