A Virginia judge on Friday agreed to toss out the 2019 conviction of former D.C. firefighter Elon Wilson on drug and gun charges, agreeing with defense attorneys and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano that racial bias may have been at play in the arresting officer’s initial stop and arrest.
Descano, a progressive prosecutor who took office last year, said the case was one of more than 400 stops by a former Fairfax County police officer his office has been investigating, and could lead to further moves to vacate judgements against defendants for everything from traffic offenses, to misdemeanors and felonies.
“Mr. Wilson was the victim of a culture in this criminal justice system that prioritized conviction over justice, that prioritized finality over justice, and that is the thing that I know myself and my staff have been working to change that culture since I took office,” Descano said outside the courthouse after the ruling.
The ruling by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Ortiz could mean that Wilson might be freed from state prison in a matter of weeks, where he has been serving out a three-year sentence stemming from the 2018 arrest when he was found with a passenger in a car containing drugs and guns.
Jonathan Freitag, the arresting officer, initially said he had stopped Wilson, who was 23 at the time, for improperly crossing a solid yellow line and for having excessively tinted windows. Faced with a sentence approaching 10 years for drugs and guns found in the car, Wilson took an Alford plea, which is when a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but concedes there’s enough evidence to secure a conviction.
He we go, let them all out and start over. Police reform would be that no black cop arrest a White and no White arrest a black. There are many more bright ideas. Being they are going to defund police, just hire men and women willing to do the job without salary. Maybe community service and when tired, fire and hire more willing participants. Damn, what is the U.S.A. be like in ten years?