The murder charge against the teenage daughter of a Blackwater guard slain in a Fallujah ambush in 2004 has been dropped after a judge dismissed much of the evidence against the defendant. Nineteen-year-old Kelsey Helvenston was charged following the shooting death of twenty-five-year-old Anthony Sanderlin outside his Fenner Street apartment.

Helvenston was taken into custody days after the Sanderlin's shooting death, and she is said to have confessed to the killing during the course of a "lengthy interrogation" after initially denying any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Sanderlin's murder. Prosecutors said Helvenston eventually alleged that the victim sexually assaulted her, and that after the shooting both Helvenston and her boyfriend denied the dying man assistance. Sanderlin, who had been shot seventeen times, eventually sought help from a neighbor, but died of his wounds at a local hospital. Circuit Court Judge Norman Thomas ruled the confession inadmissible after it was determined that the then-minor Helvenston attempted to invoke her right to remain silent and that her request to speak to a Virginia homicide lawyer had not been granted.

Prosecutors in the case concluded that without the confession, too little evidence remained to pursue the charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony that Helvenston faced. Her Virginia criminal attorney commented to press regarding the decision:

"It's been a long and arduous journey. It's been hard for her and her family."

Police will have the option to continue their investigation into the incident, and if further evidence emerges, new charges could be brought against Helvenston. Sanderlin's sister, Renee Sanderlin, told press that she hopes someone will eventually be prosecuted for her sibling's murder"

"We lost a body, a soul... I would like to see some justice for my brother's death."

This article is published by Price Benowitz LLP. The firm has offices in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, visit the Maryland Criminal Attorney and Washington DC Criminal Attorney websites.

A man who had not left his apartment in Reston for over three years when he shot and killed his former girlfriend was convicted last week of involuntary manslaughter in the woman's death. Fairfax criminal lawyers for fourty-six-year-old Ron Robertson argued that the killing was an "accident," while prosecutors contended that Robertson's failure to render aid to a dying Karen Deck after shooting her in the head illustrated his intent to kill her.

Deck brought Robertson "food and vodka" on a daily basis, and was said to be his "only connection" to the world that existed outside his apartment. Robertson, whose Virginia criminal attorney described him as a long-time heavy drinker, did not call police after he says Deck was accidentally shot while the defendant attempted to remove a bullet from his 9mm gun on October 23rd, 2009. Robertson called his parents and friends, although he notably did not call 911, to report that he had "shot his girlfriend." After failing to convince his family and friends that he had shot Deck, Robertson passed out until the next day.

On the 24th, another friend visited Robertson to drop off vodka. After the friend left, the defendant again phoned his mother, who finally placed a call to emergency services. At the time of his arrest, Robertson's blood alcohol content was reported to be three times the legal limit for intoxication in Virginia, at 0.245 percent. His Virginia criminal attorney argued that his client's addiction in and of itself would have made him less likely to intentionally kill Deck:

"Why would Mr. Robertson want to kill his lifeline, his link to the world? He needed his alcohol, his drug. Why would he kill her? . . . All of the physical evidence supports Mr. Robertson's version, that it was an accident."

In court on November 19th, a jury in Fairfax rejected the prosecution's request for a first-degree murder conviction, recommending a maximum term of 10 years in prison on the charge of involuntary manslaughter. At a sentencing hearing early next year, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Smith can either impose or reduce that sentence. After the shooting, almost a dozen guns were found in Robertson's apartment, and he could be brought up on federal gun charges for possessing guns as a felon.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer and Washington DC DUI Attorney websites.

A woman from Dale City has been sentenced to jail time after being found guilty of fatally neglecting her nine-month-old daughter. According to her Prince William criminal lawyer, twenty-two-year-old Julia Sumo pled guilty to misdemeanor child neglect in September.

Sumo was convicted for the 2009 drowning death of her daughter Gilliah Quansah. The incident occurred on October 10th of last year, when the defendant was bathing the little girl at her Dale City home. Sumo told law enforcement officials that she left her daughter standing in the bathtub because she thought she smelled something burning in the kitchen where her roommate was cooking. She entered the adjacent room, returning in "a few minutes." Upon her return, baby Gilliah was submerged in the tub, laying face up.

Sumo instructed her roommate to call 911, and the roommate then unsuccessfully performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the child. The girl never regained consciousness, and was transported to Inova Fairfax hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Sumo's husband Ishmael Quansah, with whom she has a three-week-old daughter, spoke in court of the impact of Gilliah's death:

"Many days and many nights we grieved over this grave mistake," Quansah said. "But at the same time, we are moving forward."

Quansah told the court that he and Sumo are working on "becoming better parents" to the baby born to them last month. He testified that his wife was "beside herself with grief," and that the child's death was a mistake. Sumo told the court she was "very, very sorry" for the death of her daughter.

Sumo's Virginia criminal lawyer asked that no jail time be ordered in the case, but prosecutors requested the 60-day term. Prince William Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen concurred, saying that acknowledgement should be "given to the fact that a life was lost." Sumo was also sentenced to serve two years of probation, and ordered to attend parenting classes and undergo a mental health evaluation.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland Criminal Attorney and Washington DC Criminal Lawyer websites.

A Rocky Mount police officer who was the subject of a state police probe has been charged with three felony counts of using a computer to invade someone's privacy. Thirty-six-year-old Officer Christopher Williams was indicted by a jury in Franklin County on September 13th and is accused of "using a computer without authority to examine and distribute identifying information about another person."

Franklin County Circuit Court Judge William Alexander appointed Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom as special prosecutor in the case, and Branscom said the case "is more about the violation of rules than corruption." Branscom declined to comment further. The town's interim police chief David Cundiff said the allegations of misconduct were revealed in the course of another, unrelated investigation. He indicated that he requested the inquiry not long after he became interim police chief, after overhearing a conversation during which a captain and lieutenant discussed how to investigate an unspecified matter.

Cundiff was unable to elaborate on the status of the other investigation that brought Williams' alleged crimes to light. Cundiff, who has been serving as interim police chief in Rocky Mount since June, is a member of the county board of supervisors and a former county sheriff's office investigator. He replaced former police chief Erik Molllin after Mollin stepped down from the position in February for undisclosed reasons

On Tuesday, Williams commented briefly on the charges, saying they "are just allegations." He directed all further questions be asked of his Virginia criminal lawyer, who was unavailable to comment on the case. Williams could receive up to five years in prison for each charge if convicted. Cundiff confirmed that Williams has been suspended without pay. A trial date for Williams has been set for November 17th.

This article is presented by The Law Office of David Benowitz, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Attorneys and Virginia DUI Attorneys websites.

Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok says the man believed to have carjacked a vehicle outside of a grocery store in the Manassas area has been arrested and charged. 32-year-old Jeremy Ray Stanley, who was listed as having no fixed address, is facing charges of grand larceny and carjacking for the September 10th incident.

Police say the 46-year-old female victim was leaving the West Gate Shopping Plaza's Giant Food store on Sudley Road just before 10 a.m. when she was approached from behind. The suspect then is said to have demanded money and her car keys, driving away with her 2005 Toyota Camry. The woman, who has not been identified publicly, described the carjacker as having a slim build, appearing to be between the ages of 30 and 35 years old, and standing approximately six feet tall. She indicated he wore a dark jacket and blue jeans, and carried a backpack. The following day, police arrested Stanley, who is said to have matched the victim's description of her attacker.

Police indicated that the victim was alone and the time of the carjacking, and that she did not sustain any injuries during the incident. During the crime, the carjacker did not imply he had nor did he display a weapon. Surveillance video of the alleged suspect shortly before the incident was released to the press before the arrest was made, and police appealed to the public to identify the man shown on the tape. Following the incident, the suspect was last spotted leaving northbound on Sudley Road heading toward Interstate 66.

Sudley has not been granted bond, and it was not disclosed whether he has been assigned or retained a Virginia criminal lawyer to face the charges against him. A court date for Stanley has been set for October 18th.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Washington DC Criminal Lawyer and Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney websites.

A 33-year-old special education teacher has been placed on unpaid administrative leave from Deer Park Elementary school in Centreville, and the experienced educator stands accused of "mistreating" two autistic students who were assigned to her classroom. Jennah Billeter of Fairfax surrendered to police Sunday, and was charged with two counts of felony cruelty to children and one misdemeanor count of simple assault. It is not currently clear whether the teacher has retained or been assigned a Virginia criminal lawyer to face the charges against her.

Billeter, who turned herself in to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, was first reported to Child Protective Services in early July. An investigation by those authorities centered around the teacher's treatment of two boys in her class, aged four and five. Law enforcement officials, the school district administration and Deer Park Elementary Principal Carol Larsen opted not to provide further information on what type of incidents may have lead to the investigation and subsequent charges, but Larsen described the series of events that lead to the charges in a letter distributed Monday to parents. The principal stated that the potential abuse was first brought to her attention by a school staffer, and that observation was what led to the involvement of Child Protective Services.

While police did not provide details of the alleged assaults on the two boys, they confirmed neither child required medical treatment as a result of the incidents. The spokesman for Billeter's school district, Paul Regnier, indicated that Billeter has been an employee of the district since she began working as a substitute in 2002. After she became a permanent teacher in 2003, Billeter worked at Clifton Elementary and Bull Run Elementary before being placed at Deer Park in 2007.

This article is presented by The Law Office of David Benowitz, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland Criminal Attorneys and DC Criminal Attorneys websites.

Occasionally, charges are filed due to behavior that is not intentionally criminal, but where negligence or recklessness has lead to prosecution.

A recent fatal boating accident in Hampton has prosecutors examining whether to file charges, and against whom, after the death of 35-year-old Elizabeth Elliott in a boating accident. Elliott was aboard a 20-foot boat with several adults and her seven-year-old son when the accident occurred. The unnamed child was reportedly at the boat's wheel when the vessel struck a pier. According to Virginia Marine Resources Commission spokesman John Bull, Elliott was seated at the front of the boat when she was thrown from the craft and suffered severe head and chest trauma.

After the incident, Bull told press that it is not against the law in Virginia for a child to pilot a boat. As a Virginia criminal attorney is well aware, adults responsible for the consequences of a child's actions are not exempt from prosecution. Bull told press that an adult present at the accident could be charged with reckless boating. Bull said:

"We are trying to find out what chain of events, what mental process, resulted in the decision to allow this 7-year-old to operate a boat in a narrow channel of the Hampton River.

"It's still an open-ended question whether laws were broken."

Virginia Marine Police are investigating the incident and the results of the investigation are expected to be complete by the end of this week. Starting in 2011, people aged 20 or younger will be required to complete a boating safety course prior to operating a boat.

This article is present by The Law Office of David Benowitz. For more information please visit our Maryland Criminal Lawyer and DC Criminal Lawyer websites.

A Fairfax criminal lawyer often has firsthand knowledge of the sobering statistics surrounding domestic violence and the military. The rate of deaths resulting from domestic violence incidents domestic violence incidents and resulting deaths are often far higher in military populations; and. Aa report from 2008 indicates that more than 150 cases of fatal domestic violence or child abuse in the US involving service members and returning veterans were recorded between the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the 2008 report. A double homicide that first came to light on Monday, June 14th in Fairfax County seems to be a part of fall into that trend.

Retired Army lieutenant colonel Kenston K. Yi, 49, entered the emergency room at DeWitt Army Community Hospital on the Fort Belvoir Army base in Fairfax County shortly after 8 a.m. on June 14th. According to an affidavit by Fairfax homicide Detective Robert Bond, Yi initially told a doctor that he had taken the sleep aid Ambien and that he wanted to cause himself harm. Yi then requested a visit with clergy, and confessed to a minister that he had strangled his wife and daughter in their home in Lorton. Yi did not request a Virginia criminal attorney at that time.

Police investigated Yi's claims, and found the door to his apartment closed but not locked. Inside the apartment, law enforcement officials discovered the bodies of Hyon Yi, 47, and Joy Yi, 15. Autopsies performed on Tuesday indicate that the elder Yi died of blunt force trauma, while the younger Yi was asphyxiated. Police declined to provide specific details regarding the injuries suffered by the Yi women.

Kenston Yi retired from the Army in August after 30 years of active duty. He attended and graduated from West Point, and worked mainly in IT prior to his retirement. In recent years, Yi was part of the staff for the Chief Information Officer of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, according to Army officials.

The retired Army lieutenant colonel did was not present at his June 15th arraignment, as he remained hospitalized after expressing suicidal thoughts. Yi did not have retain a Virginia criminal lawyer, and Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Teena Grodner assigned a public defender to his case. Because the victims are Yi's wife and daughter, the case is being heard in domestic relations court. Information regarding future court appearances for Yi is not currently available.

This article is presented by The Law Offices of David Benowitz, representing clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Washington DC Homicide Attorney and Maryland Homicide Lawyer websites.

Police have arrested three people and are looking for a fourth after allegedly forcibly entering a home in Woodbridge. The incident began at 12:35 on June 21st, when a homeowner on Coachman Terrace alerted her husband to the presence of an unidentified person near their house. One of the homeowners opened the front door and an additional three men who were not initially visible to the couple entered the house by force, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

In addition to the man and his wife, the couple's two children were present in the home at the time of the incident. One of the four suspects reportedly struck the homeowner with a gun during the robbery, and the four men fled with an undisclosed sum of money.

A subsequent search of the surrounding area by Fairfax County and Prince William County Police netted three of the four suspects in the Woodbridge home invasion. Kenithy Manns, 19, and Ronald Graham, 20, both of Alexandria, were arrested; as was a 17-year-old Woodbridge minor who was not identified due to his age. Graham, Manns and the unidentified teenager were charged with abduction, burglary while armed and using a firearm during the commission of a felony. It is unclear whether counsel has been appointed for the suspects or if they have retained a Virginia criminal lawyer.

The fourth man involved in the incident is still being sought, and is described as being a black male between the ages of 19 and 24. Police did not disclose whether the homeowner suffered any injuries or was treated in a hospital. A Virginia criminal lawyer will examine the evidence and any mitigating factors in this case, including the relative young age of the unnamed suspect.

This article is presented by The Law Offices of David Benowitz, representing clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, please visit our DC Robbery Lawyer and Maryland Robbery Attorney websites.

A Fairfax County jury deliberated for just 47 minutes before acquitting a gym teacher from Centre Ridge Elementary School in Centreville on charges of aggravated sexual battery and abduction. Closing arguments made by the defendant's Virginia criminal lawyer about the effects of the case on the man's life caused jurors to become so distraught that the trial had to be briefly recessed.

Jurors were satisfied that the charges brought against on 43-year-old physical education teacher Sean Lanigan were of no merit, commenting to press:

"It was an easy decision," said juror Asmaa al-Ghafari. "I just hope Mr. Lanigan can get his life back."

"There was no evidence," juror Jacklyn West said. "There was no case."

Lanigan stood accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl in the school's gymnasium earlier this year. Charges against the defendant centered largely on the testimony of two sixth grade girls. The girls claimed that Lanigan had carried one of them into an equipment room, where he was said to have touched her inappropriately after placing her on a gym mat. The incident was alleged to have occurred on January 12th, and police learned of the allegations on January 15th. Fairfax detectives initially questioned Lanigan on January 20th, before arresting him on January 29th.

Lanigan, a teacher at Centre Ridge for 12 years and youth soccer coach for 20 years, testified that he often engaged in physical horseplay with students as he did with his own children but that he had not molested the child. Along with the defendant, five other people testified that there were no mats present in the equipment room where the molestation was alleged to have occurred. Lanigan's prime accuser also admitted in court to holding a "grudge" against the teacher for threatening to discipline her.

The girl claimed originally that the teacher touched her "breast and buttock" during the incident. To prevent against a conviction of aggravated sexual battery of someone younger than 13, Lanigan's Virginia criminal lawyer would have to argue that the defendant had no intent to "sexually molest, arouse or gratify any person, where the defendant intentionally touches the complaining witness's intimate parts or material clothing covering such intimate parts."

Sean Lanigan's case illustrates the havoc criminal charges can cause on an individual's life. Lanigan's Virginia criminal lawyer spoke during closing arguments of the difficulties endured by the defendant, who was identified publicly and suspended without pay. Fairfax County school officials were not able to say when or if the popular teacher would be restored to his job at Centre Ridge Elementary.