In an exclusive statement given to Blueweeds, the Republican candidate for Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney says he "strongly believes" the prosecutorial decision not to bring criminal charges against the shooter in the Steve Cornejo killing should be reviewed. Patrick McDade, who is currently a prosecutor in Arlington County, is seeking to fill the top prosecutor position in Fairfax County left vacant by the retirement of legendary prosecutor Bob Horan. If elected, McDade promised a "fresh, non-biased examination" will be made of the circumstances surrounding Steve Cornejo's death.
In a comment (the entirety of which is below the "Bitter Silence ..." post) made to a Blueweeds post yesterday on the lack of responsiveness from the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney's Office in the Cornejo matter, McDade made a comment which said in part:
"... After looking into reports and testimony provided to me by the attorney on the civil case, I strongly believe the criminal case needs to be reviewed for prosecutorial merit. I can promise that a fresh, non-biased examination will occur when I am elected and the appropriate prosecutorial decision will be made. ..."
The handling of the investigation, the decision not to prosecute the shooter in the Cornejo killing, and the refusal of the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney to communicate with the Cornejo family or provide any information on the status of the case has raised questions from different parties in Fairfax and Falls Church communities. The previous Blueweeds posts on the shooting are here. Steve myspace page here. more june 30 WaPo here.
The Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney's Office initially declined to charge the shooter, claiming Steve Cornejo had been killed in a "good Samaritan" shooting where a civilian with prior military training carrying a concealed weapon intervened in a domestic dispute at a late night party and ended up accidentally killing Steve in self-defense.
The Cornejo shooting has been held up by several pro-gun activist organizations as an example of where concealed weapons in the hands of civilians have effectively been used to protect the lives of other citizens. see here
Bob Horan initially refused to release the name of the shooter, claiming the shooter was "meek" and in danger from the Hispanic communities in Fairfax and Falls Church. Steve Cornejo was the co-captain of the Falls Church state championship soccer team and his family are Hispanic and well known business owners and activists in the Democratic community. The Cornejo family brought a civil wrongful death action against the shooter. Initially unable to find a lawyer to represent the family, VA Delagate Dave Albo's law firm took the case and won a surprise $2 million dollar civil verdict in Fairfax County. The family is unlikely to collect on any of that verdict, as the shooter has no assets to speak of and recently filed bankruptcy. more from AristoKat here. more from washington city paper here.
The civil verdict was viewed by many as a "message verdict." That is, a verdict of more than what was asked for in a normally very conservative jury system, awarded as a way for the jury to send a message to the community that the jurors saw compelling evidence of a particular injustice or inequity. march WaPo on verdict here
The evidence presented at the civil trial and the facts adopted by the civil jury are starkly different than those proffered by the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney. In making its award, the jurors in the civil case considered mostly uncontradicted testimony that Steve was drinking and arguing with a girl at a late night party. As the girl testified at the civil trial, Steve had not touched her, and she had left the area when the shooter came out of his girlfriend's apartment to intervene in a domestic disturbance. The shooter, recently discharged from the Navy, had stuffed a concealed handgun which belonged to his girlfriend in his waistband and, about a 100 feet away from Steve, confronted him. The shooter had been drinking for several hours before the shooting. They exchanged words. The shooter was the aggressor and threw the first punch at Steve. They fought and the shooter momentarily gained the advantage. The shooter pistol whipped Steve hitting him at least three times in the face with his gun. The shooter than got behind Steve, and, after Steve begged for his life asking twice loudly "Why do you want to take my life?" "Why do you want to take my life?" the shooter shot Steve in the back. He picked up the spent shell casing off the ground as Steve lay dying and returned to his girlfriend's apartment where he shredded his bloody shirt, flushed the shirt and the shell casing down the toilet, and hid the gun he had just used to kill Steve. The shooter then talked about the shooting with his girlfriend as Steve lay drowning in his own blood in the courtyard below their apartment. The shooter did not call an ambulance or the police. When the police knocked on his door hours later, the shooter denied being involved at in the incident. Several hours later when he realized he had left personal belongs at the scene he went back and talked with the investigators. The shooter has never been arrested or charged with any crime related to the killing, the handling of the weapon, or the his subsequent attempts to cover up his involvement. more from washington city paper here
Key to the civil verdict was the testimony of two eyewitnesses. The testimony of the two eyewitnesses, both Hispanic, had either been discounted or ignored by Fairfax investigators. Reached for comment hours after the civil verdict, Bob Horan was quoted in the Falls Church News Press as saying he had been unaware of the eyewitness evidence and was "surprised" by their testimony.
Bob Horan suggested his office could still bring criminal charges against the shooter if new evidence was uncovered. After the civil verdict, Falls Church City Mayor (who is my wife) made a formal request through the Fairfax County Auditor to Gerry Connolly to reevaluate the case in light of the civil verdict. Connolly made the request to Bob Horan in the early summer of 2007. Last month, Fairfax investigators presented recommendations to Horan concerning the case. Horan has refused to provide any information, and, in fact, has rebuffed attempts to find out the status of the matter saying he "doesn't talk to politicians."
Cornejo's family and supporters were very surprised to see Fairfax investigators openly joking and socializing with the shooter during the civil trail. The Commonwealth Attorney's office, including Bob Horan as recently as a two months ago, have continued to contend the shooter is meek and at risk for retaliation from the Hispanic community. Fairfax officials have privately warned people making inquires in the matter that the Cornejo family is involved with drugs and has ties to area gangs.
Since the shooting, there have been several posts made on blogs in Fairfax County claiming the shooter has attended parties, been the aggressor in fights, and threatened people he has attacked that "he has killed men for less." more on shooter here. still more on shooter fights here.
The Democratic nominee and heavily favored candidate to replace Bob Horan, Ray Morrough, has not taken a public position on whether or not he would look at the Cornejo case, and has not taken my calls or returned messages left at his office.
In contrast, Republican aspirant McDade has not only taken a public position on a Democratic blog, but he also went out of his way to acknowledge the loss of the Cornejo family and took the time to talk with me at length on the phone after hours about his background, his campaign, and how he views the prosecutorial responsibilities in Fairfax County.
It is impossible for me to overstate how much additional information about the Cornejo case from either the current Democratic Commonwealth Attorney or from the Democratic nominee would mean right now to the Cornejo family and to the Falls Church City community.
