Friday, October 26, 2012
A Prince William County Circuit Court judge appointed Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Morrogh in October to prosecute the Justin Wolfe murder-for-hire retrial.
Nearly five dozen former judges, prosecutors and other attorneys signed a letter this week criticizing the appointment of the Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney as special prosecutor in a decade-old capital murder case, and his decision to retry the defendant. A Prince William County Circuit Court judge in September appointed Raymond Morrogh to prosecute the case during the retrial of Justin Wolfe, a Chantilly High School graduate, who was convicted over a decade ago for ordering the murder of his drug supplier, Daniel Petrole Jr., of Centreville. Wolfe's conviction was thrown out by a federal judge last year, and the vacation of his sentence was subsequently upheld by an appeals court. The courts also criticized Prince William County …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The former death row inmate's retrial was originally scheduled to begin in October, but a judge has not set the new date yet.
The re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe, whose previous conviction related to the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. was vacated by the federal courts, has been delayed. Additional charges have been filed against the former Chantilly High School student. While the trial—initially set for Oct. 15—has been delayed, the judge did not set a new date. The new charges include first-degree murder, capital murder, two counts of drug distribution, and two charges of using a firearm in commission of a felony, according to Prince William County court records. Wolfe was convicted in 2002 of ordering Petrole’s 2001 murder, but the triggerman later recanted his story and testified on Wolfe’s behalf in federal court. Federal judges criticized how Prince …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Prince William County commonwealth's attorney Paul Ebert recused himself from the case, after a federal judge said the initial trial was filled with "hearsay and speculation."
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Morrogh will act as special prosecutor when the state again tries Justin Wolfe, of Chantilly, for allegedly ordering the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Petrole Jr. Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Mary Grace O'Brien confirmed Morrogh as the prosecutor Friday, a day after Prince William County prosecutors moved to recuse themselves from the case. "I thought it was appropriate for a special prosecutor," O'Brien said. Given the circumstances around the case, the move to appoint a special prosecutor was expected. Last year, a federal judge reprimanded Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Conway for their conduct at the previous trial. U.…
On Oct. 15th, former death row inmate Justin Wolfe will go back on trial for allegedly ordering the murder of Daniel Petrole, Jr.
A Prince William County Circuit Court judge denied bail for former death row inmate Justin Wolfe, who will stand trial again this October for allegedly ordering the murder of his drug supplier, Daniel Petrole Jr., of Centreville, in 2001. Wolfe’s retrial will go before a jury on Oct. 15 and is scheduled to last for three weeks. The Chantilly man’s previous conviction was thrown out due to what a federal judge described as prosecutorial misconduct—but special prosecutor Raymond Morrogh indicated to Judge Mary Grace O’Brien the state has enough evidence to convict. Morrogh, the commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, officially took over the prosecution’s case Friday, after Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert and …
Brad Brent's
3:37 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
Marion Barry knows what guilty looks like, but only when he looks in the mirror. more ›