politics
DOJ Launches Civil Rights Investigation Into Fairfax County Prosecutor’s Charging and Plea Policies
The Justice Department launched a pattern or practice investigation last week into Commonwealth's Attorney Descano to determine whether his office violated federal law by factoring immigration consequences into charging and plea decisions. The probe follows a request from the Victim Rights Reform Council on behalf of Cheryl Minter, whose daughter Stephanie Minter was fatally stabbed earlier this…
May 11, 1:02 PM·2m read1 source
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The Department of Justice opened a "pattern or practice" civil rights investigation into Fairfax County, Virginia, Commonwealth's Attorney Descano last week. The inquiry is examining whether Descano’s office violated federal law by weighing immigration consequences in charging decisions and plea deals.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said last week that the investigation would zero in on Descano's plea bargaining, charging decisions and sentencing policies.
The probe comes amid an ongoing spate of violent crime in Fairfax County involving illegal immigrants. It was launched at the request of the Victim Rights Reform Council on behalf of Cheryl Minter. Jennifer Harrison, head of the Victim Rights Reform Council, filed the complaint that initiated the investigation.
Stephanie Minter was fatally stabbed at a bus stop earlier this year in Fairfax County, Virginia. Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone, is the alleged perpetrator. In a press release following Minter’s death, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Descano’s office had been warned about Jalloh and the danger he posed to the public ahead of Minter’s death.
Descano, whose entry into political office was propelled by a $627,653 donation from the Soros family's Justice and Public Safety PAC, is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement on Thursday. County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid will testify before the same subcommittee on Thursday.
