The independent criminal investigation into the April 26 shooting at Westminster at Lake Ridge has concluded, with no charges filed against the Prince William County Police officers involved, according to a June 27, 2025, statement from the department. The Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), a multi-agency group of Northern Virginia law enforcement investigators, led the probe and presented its findings to Commonwealthâs Attorney Amy Ashworth. After evaluating the evidence, Ashworth determined that no criminal charges would be pursued.
The case now enters a new phase: an internal administrative review by the police departmentâs Office of Professional Standards. Following that, the departmentâs Use of Deadly Force Review Board will decide whether the officersâ actions were justified and in line with departmental policy.
The incident occurred just before 10 a.m. on April 26 at the Westminster at Lake Ridge retirement community, located in the 12100 block of Clipper Drive. Police were called to the scene for a report of a man in crisis armed with a knife. Upon entering an apartment, officers encountered Joseph Anthony Cassell, who allegedly approached them with the weapon and ignored verbal commands.
Officers discharged their service weapons, striking Cassell. Police said that after the initial gunfire, Cassell attacked a 91-year-old womanâidentified by police as a relativeâprompting officers to fire again. Cassell died at the scene. The woman suffered serious injuries and was flown to a hospital. She is expected to recover.
No officers were injured during the encounter, which remained contained to the residence. The names of the officers involved have not been released.
The department has not announced a timeline for completing the administrative review.
Ahead of fiscal year 2025, Ashworth similarly requested more staff members despite the Board being reluctant to fund additional positions. In response, Ashworth sent a letter to the Board stating she would withhold prosecution of certain misdemeanor charges if the Board didn't approve her request.
âThe bottom line is that this office was not properly staffed and funded for decades as the County grew up around us,â Ashworth wrote in an email to Potomac Local in April 2024.
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A judge ordered the release of Latoya Crabbe from jail after dismissing a second-degree murder charge against her, citing repeated missed deadlines by the prosecution. Crabbe, a Manassas mother of three, had been accused of killing her estranged husband, Curtis Crabbe, in October 2024.
Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Angela Horanâs decision came after she denied a request from the Commonwealthâs Attorneyâs Office to continue the case. With no viable path forward, the office was forced to drop the charges.
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The Prince William County Commonwealthâs Attorneyâs Office has been ordered to pay a $22,250 sanction for violating Virginiaâs Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA law is intended to promote government transparency and public awareness of government activities.
Valeria Juarez, a citizen of Fairfax County, filed a lawsuit in 2023 after a series of FOIA requests either failed to include all requested documents or contained so many redactions that they were unreadable. Juarez contended that the Commonwealthâs Attorneyâs Office initially failed to provide 172 requested emails, and when they were eventually produced, they were so heavily redacted that they contained no meaningful information.
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Prince William County Assistant prosecutor D. Burke Walker told Circuit Court Judge Angela Horan that his office would file a motion on the first day of trial not to prosecute Latoya Crabbe on her 2nd-degree murder charge but instead will move to indict her on 1st-degree murder charge.
Crabbe is accused of murder in the death of her estranged husband, Curtis Crabbe. Curtis had made threats over text messages in the days leading to the shooting, police said. In evidence presented at a preliminary hearing in December, officers admitted they found an unsheathed and extended Italian Stiletto knife that Crabbeâs defense attorney, David Daughtery, argued showed Crabbe was in imminent fear for her life. Such knives were illegal in Virginia until a law changed in 2023. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 3, but Walker's admission questions the timeline.
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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.
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Mauricio Antonio Mayorga, 48, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Nov. 21 for a March 2023 murder in the Hoadly Road Food Lion parking lot.
Judge James A. Willett found Mayorga guilty of one count of second-degree murder following his guilty plea on the charge. Willett also sentenced Mayorga.
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Ezzedin Baryoh was sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison after being found guilty by a Prince William County jury following an April 2023 shooting in Triangle.
According to a release from Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Petula C. Metzler sentenced Baryoh on Friday to serve 93 years with 25 years suspended, leaving 68 years to serve followed by five years of supervised probation.
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In a meeting on October 8, 2024, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved funding for new positions in the Commonwealth Attorney's Office, addressing the office's need for additional resources to handle an increasing caseload. The positions include four new attorney roles: paralegal, victim-witness staff, and administrative staff. Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth emphasized the importance of these positions for the efficiency and effectiveness of the countyâs criminal justice system.
The new hires come after Ashworth said she would withhold prosecution of certain misdemeanor charges, effective May 1, 2024, if county leaders donât give her more employees.
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In a recent episode of Potomac Local Live, I talked with Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega about various pressing issues affecting the county. Our conversation focused on crime trends, community safety initiatives, and policy responses to local challenges such as panhandling.
As we continue to cover important local issues, a video of this discussion will be available at the end of this post. We thank our members for their ongoing support of local news, which enables us to bring these critical conversations to the forefront, helping to keep the Prince William County community informed and engaged.
