Man Pleads Guilty To Gang Charges
by David Reynolds
Daily News-Record
HARRISONBURG - Prosecutors more than doubled the time a confessed gang member will spend in confinement when he pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a felony gang charge filed in connection with graffiti sprayed in Harrisonburg in 2005.
Justin S. King, 20, pleaded guilty in Rockingham County Circuit Court to one count of gang participation and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to a plea agreement he signed with prosecutors.
A statement from Attorney General Bob McDonnell's office says King is a member of the Gangster Disciples - one of several gangs police have said is present in Harrisonburg.
The gang participation charge stems from graffiti King sprayed in the laundry room of JM's Apartments in Harrisonburg in late summer 2005, according to court records.
Authorities say the two-year sentence is the state's longest in memory for a graffiti case.
Assistant Attorney General Phillip Figura, the prosecutor in the case, said the sentence resulted from new state laws designed to deter gang activity.
In a written statement, McDonnell said, "This case demonstrates the value of Virginia's tough new gang laws. The Shenandoah Valley will not be a welcome home for criminal street gangs."
King is already serving a one-year sentence after a malicious wounding conviction in June in connection with a non-fatal shooting near Grottoes in November 2005. The prosecutor in that case said the victim was shot in the hip and arm.
He also said the case was complicated, and that the victim may have been armed. King entered an Alford plea to the charge - not admitting guilt, but acknowledging the state has enough evidence for a conviction.
New Charge For Prior Offense
Photos in the court file show blue and black spray-paint on the walls and floor of the laundry room at JM's Apartments.
The graffiti states apparent gang slogans, like "blood killer" and derides Hispanics and Baptists, according to the photos.
On Tuesday, Judge John McGrath sentenced King to 10 years in prison, and then suspended eight years in accordance with the plea agreement King signed with prosecutors. After his release, he'll serve three years of supervised probation and will be forbidden from associating with gang members, according to the agreement. He also must pay $550 restitution for the graffiti.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped an additional charge of property destruction, according to the plea agreement in the court file.
The case was investigated by CHARGE - the local gang task force - and a multi-jurisdictional grand jury, which McDonnell empanelled in February to investigate gang activity in the Shenandoah Valley.
Police first filed the charges in June 2006, and the grand jury indicted the case in August.
Contact David Reynolds at 574-6278 or reynolds@dnronline.com