HAMPTON ROADS, Va.- For months, News 3 has been investigating the lack of funds to protect witnesses in the state of Virginia.
Prosecutors say many times witnesses are too scared to take the stand and fearful of retaliation from the people they are testifying against.
Ramin Fatehi, the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney was extremely disappointment when a recent case involving a shooting on Granby Street had to be dismissed because he said two witnesses didn’t show up for court.
On Tuesday, a judge dropped charges against Antoine Legrande Jr. They were in connection with a March shooting that left three people dead and two more injured on Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk.
Legrande’s lawyer Eric Korslund said he’s maintained his innocence from the start.
Portsmouth man Devon Harris, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene, and 25-year-old Norfolk woman Sierra Jenkins, a reporter with The Virginian-Pilot, was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. A third victim, 24-year-old Portsmouth man Marquel Andrews, was hospitalized and died from his injuries on April 12.
The victims’ families were in the courtroom Tuesday but didn’t want to speak with media.
It is unclear why the witnesses didn’t appear for court on Tuesday.
Fatehi has met with News 3 Investigators to explain issues with the lack of funding for the state witness protection program.
He said he doesn’t know if a witness protection program would have produced more witnesses in this case, but said he knows it could not have hurt.
He said witnesses are constantly asking him what will be done to protect them and there is not much that can be done expect possibly add extra patrols to where they live, however police departments are already dealing with shortages.
The Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares recently announced that with the governor’s support they’re working with the General Assembly to put funding towards a witness protection program. It’s part of Operation Ceasefire – an effort to reduce violent crime in several partner cities across the state to include Norfolk, Hampton, Petersburg, Roanoke, Newport News, Portsmouth, Richmond, Chesapeake, Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg, and Emporia.
Funding could pay for things like relocation, security or other forms of protection.
Our News 3 investigation highlighted the tragic case involving 17-year-old Asia Cowell. She was scheduled to take the stand against a man accused of raping her. Authorities believe his relatives lured her, then shot her to prevent her from testifying in court. This left her family devastated.
Now leaders across the state are working to do more to protect witnesses. They say it is impossible to know whether or not funding to a program could have saved anyones life or made more witnesses show up to court, but they believe it could do more to improve our criminal justice system and protect the people trying to testify.
“It’s unconscionable that we don’t have that tool and that we don’t have something to offer as prosecutors to people who want to do the right thing,” said Fatehi.
According to the Attorney General, the General Assembly allocated $5 million for Ceasefire in the budget. It was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor earlier this year – and expect it to be fully funded this winter.
