Amy Ashworth Archives - Page 2 of 4

Manassas Man Receives Lenient Sentence After Plea Deal in Mall Shooting, Jailhouse Beating Cases

Published January 28, 2025 at 11:07AM | Updated January 31, 2025 at 1:37PM

Russell

A Manassas man who brought a 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 that left an innocent bystander and one of the combatants injured and another case where, while in custody where charging documents allege 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 was free on a cash-free bond for a 2023 Manassas City shooting that left another teen paralyzed from the neck down, was on pre-trial probation when he 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. The altercation spilled outside into the parking lot when the shooting began. The stipulations of his pretrial release required him not to possess weapons, and Virginia law bars those under 21 from possessing handguns.

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Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison in Hoadly Food Lion Murder

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published December 5, 2024 at 11:00AM

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Man Sentenced to Nearly 70 Years in Prison in April 2023 Shooting

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published November 21, 2024 at 11:00AM

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Prince William County Supervisors Approve New Positions for Commonwealth Attorney’s Office Amid Funding Challenges

By Uriah Kiser

Published October 10, 2024 at 3:00PM

Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth (Photo: Mike Beaty)

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.

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Prince William

Prince William County Supervisor Vega Discusses Crime, Community Safety

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 26, 2024 at 9:00AM

In a recent episode of Potomac Local Live, I talked with Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega about various pressing issues affecting the county.

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Prince William

Catch and Release: The Controversial Policy Fueling Prince William’s Crime Debate

By Alan Gloss

Published July 24, 2024 at 12:00PM | Updated July 26, 2024 at 5:51PM

Vega / Ashworth

In Prince William County, a catch-and-release style revolving justice system keeps more criminals on the street in the name of fairness.

A shooting at Manassas Mall on July 9, 2024, left two people injured, including one of five suspects in the case, underscores a more significant problem with the justice system in a much more progressive Prince William County.

Prince William

Manassas Mall Shooting Suspect Was Out on Bond; 2 More Face Charges

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 12, 2024 at 3:00PM | Updated July 12, 2024 at 3:40PM

[Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash]

Eric Ronaldo Benitez, 22, of Croce Court, near Manassas is in custody. The second suspect, Tayvion Omari Thornton, 18, of Cove Landing Drive in Woodbridge, is wanted.

Benitez is charged with two counts of malicious wounding, 1 count of willfully discharging a firearm in a public place, and one count of using a gun in the commission of a felony.

Prince William

Dale City man headed to prison after he raped, drugged victims

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 1, 2024 at 2:54PM

Oritz Guardado

Balmore Ortiz Guardado, 36, of Dale City, will spend at least 35 years in prison after Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Kimberly A. Irving sentenced him to a life sentence. Guardado was charged with drugging and raping women and girls.

From Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth’s office:

Prince William

Prince William County’s Communal Approach to Public Safety: Officials Update on Safe and Secure Communities Initiative

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published May 21, 2024 at 4:25PM

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors has received an update on the county’s Safe and Secure Communities Initiative, approved in 2022.

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Politics

Investigation: County’s top prosecutor treats staff to taxpayer-funded cooking class days before crying poor, threatening to withhold prosecution

By Alan Gloss

Published May 14, 2024 at 6:15PM | Updated May 15, 2024 at 11:50AM

Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney's Offie employees don personalized aprons and participate in a taxpayer-funded cooking class at the Old Manassas Courthouse, which was billed as a team building exercise.

County records show that nine days before Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth threatened to stop prosecuting a wide-ranging number of cases due to what she called a funding shortage, Ashworth’s office spent nearly $3,500 in taxpayer funds to bring a local chef to perform a cooking demonstration for her staff at the Old Manassas Courthouse.

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