Virginia

Man convicted of murder in Fairfax was propositioned by male victim

Defendant faces possible 40-year prison term

Published

7 months ago

May 14, 2024

A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury on May 9 found a 31-year-old man guilty of second-degree murder for the June 10, 2023, stabbing death of a Fairfax City, Va., man after the man propositioned him for sex, according to a statement released by the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

The statement says Aaron Robertson had been charged with killing Luis Barahona Reyes, 50, in an apparent act of revenge after the two men got off a bus in Fairfax City and Barahona Reyes asked Robertson if he would like to engage in sex.

“Robertson and Mr. Barahona Reyes were unknown to each other when they got off the same bus on Draper Street in Fairfax City around 11 p.m. on the night of June 9, 2023,” the statement says. “After a brief conversation, Robertson lured Mr. Barahona Reyes to a parking lot behind 9715 Fairfax Blvd, where Robertson knocked the victim unconscious,” the statement continues.

“Robertson later returned to the scene in the early morning hours of June 10, where he proceeded to beat, stab, and eventually kill Mr. Barahona Reyes,” it says. “Robertson then left and returned a third time to clean up the scene and try to dispose of the victim’s body.”

The statement adds, “Substantial forensic evidence introduced at trial connected Robertson to the murder, including the victim’s blood on his shoes and Robertson’s own DNA under the victim’s fingernails.”

It notes that additional evidence linking Robertson to the murder was obtained from surveillance camera footage and witness accounts from nearby Wawa and 7-Eleven stores showing him entering and leaving the stores multiple times to wash his hands.

“Prosecutors argued that Robertson attacked and killed the victim because Mr. Barahona Reyes propositioned Robertson for sex in their first encounter after getting off the bus,” the statement says.

“I’m personally dismayed this type of crime could happen in this day and age, especially in a community like Fairfax County that prides itself on being welcoming,” said Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano in the statement. “Mr. Barahona Reyes’ death is tragic, and the fact that he may have been killed for his sexuality only further adds to the injustice,” he said.

Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 26 and faces up to 40 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction.

The Washington Post reports that during Robertson’s trial, a portion of a recording of a confession that Robertson gave to Fairfax City police was played in court. The Post reports that Robertson stated in his confession that after he returned to the scene where he had knocked Barahona Reyes unconscious, Barahona Reyes “slowly got up,” pulled out a knife and lunged at Robertson.

It was at that time, Robertson said in his confession, he became fearful of his life and was able to grab the knife away from Barahona Reyes and stabbed him multiple times, slammed his head on the ground, and strangled him, according to the Post’s story on the trial and conviction.

The Post story adds that Robertson’s attorney urged the jury, based on what he said was Robertson’s fear for his life, to hand down a verdict of manslaughter rather than first-degree murder as requested by prosecutors. As it turned out, the jury handed down a lesser but still serious verdict of second-degree murder.

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Virginia

Va. Attorney General Jason Miyares to seek reelection

Republican challenged new Title IX rules for LGBTQ students

Published

3 weeks ago

November 19, 2024

Staff reports

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (Screen capture via Jason Miyares for Virginia/YouTube)

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Monday announced he will run for reelection.

Miyares, a Republican who was in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016-2022, in 2021 defeated then-Attorney General Mark Herring.

Miyares in a 2023 letter to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said school districts must adhere to the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students that activists say could potentially out them. Miyares also joined other state attorneys general who challenged the Biden-Harris administration’s Title IX rules that specifically protect LGBTQ students from discrimination based on their gender identity and sexual orientation.

Youngkin under the state constitution cannot run for a second consecutive term as governor.

Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who also opposes LGBTQ rights, in September announced she is running to succeed Youngkin in 2025. Earle-Sears will likely face outgoing Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in next year’s general election.

Virginia

Va. House committee approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment

Two successive legislatures must approve proposal before it goes to voters

Published

4 weeks ago

November 13, 2024

Staff reports

(Bigstock photo)

A Virginia House of Delegates committee on Wednesday approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Privileges and Elections Committee by a 16-5 vote margin approved state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County)’s resolution that he introduced earlier this year. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) sponsored an identical resolution in the Virginia Senate.

Ebbin and Sickles are gay.

Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.

“Virginia is for lovers,” said the Virginia House Democratic Caucus on X after Wednesday’s vote. “Today, we advanced a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. It’s time our laws reflect our values of equality, inclusion, and dignity for all.”

The committee on Wednesday also approved resolutions that would enshrine reproductive rights and restore formerly incarcerated people’s right to vote in the state constitution.

Virginia

Va. teacher fired for refusing to use student’s preferred pronouns reaches $575K settlement

State Supreme Court ruled in Peter Vlaming’s favor

Published

2 months ago

October 17, 2024

Erkki Forster

(Bigstock photo)

A Virginia teacher who was fired for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns has reached a settlement with the West Point School Board, securing $575,000 in damages and legal fees.

The school board agreed to settle Peter Vlaming’s wrongful termination lawsuit after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled last December it had violated Vlaming’s rights.

In 2018, the school board fired the former French teacher for violating school board policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment based on gender identity.

Vlaming had refused to use male pronouns when referring to a trans student in his class.

Following his dismissal, he sued the school board, claiming that the request to use the student’s preferred pronouns violated his conscience and went against his religious and philosophical convictions.

The King William County Circuit Court first dismissed Vlaming’s case, but the Virginia Supreme Court later reinstated it and ruled in Vlaming’s favor.

“I’m very grateful for the work of my attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom to bring my case to victory, and hope it helps protect every other teacher and professor’s fundamental First Amendment rights,” Vlaming said in a statement through Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative, anti-LGBTQ Christian legal organization that represents him.

The West Point School Board has since revised its policies to comply with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s overhaul of model policies for trans and nonbinary students.

The new policies, which went into effect in July 2023, mandate that schools use students’ names and pronouns based on the sex listed in their official records. Staff are prohibited from using a different name or pronoun unless parents provide written consent, and students are required to use bathrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.