EAGLES ROLL ON: Freedom’s football team shocked Westfield in the state semis. Sports, Page 11
December 5, 2018 | Vol. 17, No. 49 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
No agreement yet on classroom trailers County leaders delay decision on $143 million plan to eliminate portables By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Prince William schools currently rely on more than 200 portable classroom trailers to deal with school overcrowding. Whether county officials will fund a $143 million plan aimed at getting rid of them remains an open question this week after a Nov. 27 meeting of both county
boards resulted in little agreement. The board of supervisors and school board meet jointly only once a year. On the agenda for this year’s gathering was a plan to add two elementary schools and the equivalent of about half a middle school to Prince William schools’ existing building plan in an effort to move all students and teachers into brick-and-mortar school build-
ings over the next decade. But instead of moving ahead with that plan, the boards agreed only to hire an outside consultant to ensure the school division’s enrollment projections are accurate. The decision came after Supervisor Ruth Anderson, R-Occoquan, questioned the need to eliminate all of the trailers, and Board of Supervi-
sors Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At Large, said “the development community” has “no confidence” in the county’s current growth projections. The supervisors have delayed decisions on a few new housing projects in recent months amid residents’ ongoing concerns about school overcrowding. See TRAILERS, page 4
Honorary officer Haymarket police ‘swear in’ boy battling cancer By Robin Earl
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO CREDIT ROBIN EARL
Ethan Dixon, 9, is surrounded by his family — mom Sabrina, dad Chris, and brothers Caleb and Travis — and the officers of the Haymarket Police Department. INSIDE Calendar.............................................14 Classified............................................18 Libraries.............................................15 Lifestyle..............................................13
Anyone planning to attend a quiet Haymarket Town Council meeting Monday night was met with flashing lights, a blocked-off street lined with police and fire department vehicles and a raucous crowd gathered outside Town Hall. Hundreds of residents showed up — at the Facebook request of Haymarket Police Chief Kevin Lands — to show support for Ethan Dixon, a 9-year-old boy battling leukemia. Ethan was understandably overwhelmed by the cheering crowd, the lights and cameras. Lands said, “When See HONORARY OFFICER, page 4
Obituaries...........................................17 Opinion.................................................9 Puzzle Page........................................10 Real Estate..........................................16 Sports.................................................11
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Former Woodbridge doctor pleads guilty to operating a ‘pill mill’ clinic A former Woodbridge physician whose license had been suspended twice since 2009 pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday, Nov. 28, to operating a so-called “pill mill” that illegally distributed more than 600,000 oxycodone pills from a pain management clinic on U.S. 1. According to court documents, Shriharsh Laxman Pole, 65, voluntarily surrendered his medical license in 2009 and again in 2013. In both instances, Pole admitted to “creating a substantial risk to public health by engaging in wrongful prescribing practices for opiates, including oxycodone, oxymorphone,
hydrocodone, and hydromorphone,” according to Joshua Stueve, director of communications for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of Virginia. Upon sur- Shriharsh Laxman Pole rendering his license in 2013, Pole founded Excel Medical Clinic at 14904 Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge. EMC operated out of the same
office and had the same employees and the same patients as Pole’s former practice, Stueve said in a news release. Pole enlisted the aid of nurse-practitioner and co-conspirator, Janelle Hibson, 63, of Fredericksburg, who pleaded guilty to the same charges on Sept. 6, the news release said. Hibson pre-signed prescriptions that Pole later filled out and distributed. Patients often received these drugs without undergoing any physical or diagnostic examination to determine whether the drugs were necessary for legitimate medical purposes. Pole admitted in court
documents that between 2013 and 2015, he caused the distribution of more than 600,000 pills containing oxycodone, the news release said. Pole pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribution of Schedule II and III controlled substances, including oxycodone, oxymorphone, morphine sulfate and hydrocodone, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, the news release said. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on March 15, 2019.
Man charged with sexual assault of 4-year-old girl
cording to police. The ordeal began at 1:54 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, when witnesses reported a shooting from a moving vehicle: a blue, two-door Hyundai, which was last seen on Prince William Parkway heading toward Woodbridge. Two schools in the area – Mayfield Intermediate and a nearby day care -- went on a “secure the building” status for about 30 minutes after the shooting was reported, according to City of Manassas police. Prince William County police officers encountered the vehicle near Prince William Parkway and Hoadly Road and attempted a traffic stop, which was unsuccessful. Officers then pursued the vehicle as it turned onto Va. 234 heading toward Dumfries, according to a Prince William County police news release. The vehicle encountered traffic just prior to the Shoppes at Quantico Center at Va. 234 and Van Buren Road. The driver attempted a right turn onto Van Buren Road but collided with a 2006 Toyota Corolla, driven by a 56-year-old Dumfries man, which was stopped at the traffic light. The force of the collision pushed the Toyota into a 2003 Honda Accord, driven by an 82-year-old woman also from Dumfries, which was also stopped at the traffic light, the
release said. The drivers of the Honda and Corolla were transported to area hospitals with non-life threating injuries. The suspects were not injured, the release said. A 2015 Audi A3, driven by a 39-year-old Dumfries woman, and two marked police SUVs, including a police K-9 vehicle, were also involved in the collision. There were no injuries to the officers, police K-9 or the Audi driver, the release said. Inside the suspect’s vehicle, officers located narcotics and two firearms, the release said. Two men, one from Woodbridge, the other from Silver Spring, Maryland, were arrested and are being held without bond in connection with the incident. Jatzel Martin Colon Santiago, 21, of Lock Loop in Woodbridge, was charged with felony eluding, possession of a Schedule I or II narcotic, possession of a concealed weapon and possession of firearm with controlled substances. Alexis Carrasquillo Santana, 42, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was charged with possession of a schedule I or II narcotic, possession of a concealed weapon, possession of firearm with controlled substances and possession of a firearm by convicted felon was also arrested.
the robbery, Prince William County police said in a news release. An unknown man entered the bank, approached the teller counter and demanded money, police said. The suspect then took an undisclosed amount of money and fled, possibly getting into a blue vehicle, police said. No weapon was seen and no injuries were reported, police said. Police searched the area with a K-9 unit but did not locate the suspect. The suspect is described as black, between 20 and 30 years old and 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a red or burgundy jacket, khaki pants and rainbow-colored sunglasses.
A 75-year-old man has been arrested after, police said, he sexually assaulted a 4-year-old family member. Detectives with the Prince William County police department’s Special Victims Unit began an investigation on Nov. 27 into a sexual assault that was reported to have occurred at a residence in the Woodbridge on Nov. 19, Prince William County police said in a news release. The police investigation determined that a 4-year-old girl was being watched by a family member, Marco Tulio Ayala Ayala, 75, when the assault occurred. Ayala, who was visiting from El Salvador, was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery and object sexual penetration. He is being held without bond and has a pending court date.
Police pursuit of shooting suspects ends with fivecar crash in Dumfries
A police pursuit Thursday of two suspects involved in a Manassas shooting ended with a five-car crash in Dumfries that left two people injured and two men behind bars, ac-
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Police investigate bank robbery in Woodbridge
Prince William County police are investigating a Thursday bank robbery in Woodbridge. Officers were called to the Carter Bank & Trust, 12791 Harbor Drive, at 1:29 p.m. Nov. 29 to investigate
Possible hate crime reported in Woodbridge
Prince William County police are investigating a possible hate crime after a possible racial slur was found spray-painted on a sidewalk in a Woodbridge neighborhood earlier this month. Officers were called to investigate reports of destruction of property at a residence on the 2900 block of Wythe Court in Woodbridge at 3:47 p.m. Nov. 21, Prince William County police said in a news release. A resident of the home reported to police that the front of the residence and the sidewalk leading up to the home were spray-painted sometime between 3:30 p.m. Nov. 20 and 10 a.m. Nov. 21. “While most of the vandalism was illegible, a possible racial slur was found spray-painted on the sidewalk leading to the home,” police said in the news release.
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Northern Virginia Family Services to receive $2.5 million from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos By Karen Chaffraix Times Staff Writer
Northern Virginia Family Services, which operates the SERVE homeless shelter and food bank in Manassas, has been slated to receive a $2.5 million grant from a foundation launched by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. The Day One Fund, established by Bezos and his wife MacKenzie to address homelessness across the nation, recently announced $97.5 million in awards to 24 organizations, including two in Virginia and two in Washington, D.C. Each will receive grants of $2.5 or $5 million. NVFS, based in Oakton, Virginia, has been working to alleviate homelessness since 1924, according to its website. The nonprofit has an annual budget of about $38 million and runs 30 programs that serve about 35,000 people, including residents of Prince William County. In addition to the SERVE campus in Manassas, NVFS operates two Head Start early-childhood education programs in Woodbridge. The nonprofit, which defines its model as “people-centric” and “holistic,” says it will use the money to
Courtesy photo continue its “best practices in ending family homeless” and to “develop new solutions that help address systemic inequities,” President and CEO Stephanie Berkowitz said in a press release. Housing Families First, in Henrico County, will also receive a $2.5 million Bezos grant. Beth Vann-Turnbull, its executive director, said the money will allow the nonprofit to expand its housing offerings, “moving an additional 500 children and adults into a permanent
home over the next four years.” The organization, which has an annual budget of $1.2 million, will also repair and improve its emergency shelter to accommodate 40 more adults and children, bringing its total served to 250 a year. “Homelessness is multi-faceted and complicated,” Vann-Turnbull added in an email. “But it is certainly not a hopeless, intractable problem.” She said the region could “dramatically reduce homelessness” were it to focus upon “living wages,
increased transportation options and an ample stock of housing in a variety of price points.” The Bezos’ Day One Fund consists of two nationwide programs. The Day One Families Fund provides grants to nonprofits fighting homelessness. The Day One Academies Fund will boost a network of low-income community preschools. Its website says the grant recipients are “doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter for young families in communities across the country.” The Day One Fund press release commended the assistance of 12 experts in family homelessness who helped choose this year’s recipients, which included the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Martha’s Table, the Melville Charitable Trust and the U.S. Department of Human Services. Other local award winners were Community of Hope and District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), both in Washington, D.C. The 24 grants went to 16 U.S. states and the District. For a full list of grant recipients, visit www. BezosDayOneFund.org.
Ebert: Special prosecutor to investigate PAC Complaint alleges PAC violated state laws to help elect school board chair Staff Reports Prince William Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert says he will ask the circuit court to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate “Republicans for Stanley Bender,” a political action committee accused of breaking state laws to help Dr. Babur Lateef win the Nov. 6 special election for chairman of the county school board. Ebert, a Democrat, said he could not investigate the allegations because of his ties to the Prince William County Democratic Committee. The PAC was launched by Harry Wiggins, a former chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee, according to documents filed with the Virginia Department of Elections. Wiggins has so far not re-
turned calls for comment. Local Republicans have condemned Wiggins and the signs, which were posted outside several county polling places, as an attempt to confuse voters. Bender ran for the school board chairman’s seat without a political endorsement. The local GOP committee endorsed Alyson Satterwhite, who has represented the Gainesville District on the school board since 2012. Satterwhite lost the special election to Lateef, who was endorsed by the Prince William County Democratic Committee. Lateef garnered 73,247 votes, or 47.7 percent of the total cast. Satterwhite collected 63,827 votes, about 41.6 percent, while Bender received 14,715 votes or about 9.5 percent. Of the three candidates, Lateef raised and spent the most money on his campaign, taking in more than $146,000 in donations and spending about $89,000, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state. Satterwhite raised $19,544 and spent $13,985. Bender raised just $100 but spent none of it.
Police hold ‘Neighborhood Watch’ meeting Dec. 10 Prince William County Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit will hold a Neighborhood Watch meeting on Monday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m.
The event will cover how to work with the police department to keep your neighborhood safe or to make it safer. Members of current Neighborhood Watch programs are wel-
Local Republicans have raised questions about how a candidate who spent no money and ran a mostly passive campaign managed to win the support of nearly 10 percent of the county electorate. In a formal complaint filed Nov. 16 with the Virginia Department of Elections, the Prince William County Republican Committee alleges Republicans for Stanley Bender violated two state statutes. The PAC failed to receive Bender’s permission to use his name and failed to file an expense disclosure report, which is required of any PAC that spends more than $200, the complaint alleges. The committee’s complaint includes an affidavit signed by Bender in which he states he never gave permission for the PAC to use his name. In an interview after the election, Bender similarly told the Prince William Times he’d never been contacted by the PAC nor Wiggins. Both Lateef and Don Shaw, the current chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee, distanced themselves from the come to attend. The event should last about an hour, according to a police news release. Topics covered will include active-violence preparedness, crime reporting, emergency preparedness, watch patrol and a Q&A session.
SUBMITTED “Republicans for Stanley Bender” sign PAC and Wiggins soon after the red “Republicans for Stanley Bender” signs surfaced. On Nov. 7, Lateef issued a statement saying: “My campaign does not condone those actions and we strongly condemn them, period.” Contact news@fauquier.com This free event will take place at the Charlie T. Deane Central District Station, 5036 Davis Ford Road. To RSVP, email ksawicki@pwcgov.org. For more information, please call the Crime Prevention Unit at 703-792-7270.