Steve Descano, the Commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, is being urged to step down by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, is accused by Herndon police of raping a lady on the well-known W&OD route in Herndon.
Navarette Romero had been arrested for several offenses before to the rape, but local authorities repeatedly allowed him to return to the town.
Police say Navarette Romero is in the United States unlawfully. Court filings indicate that public aid is being provided to Navarette Romero.
“When you see the stories of victims, and then it’s by someone who has been here illegally, it’s because so often what has happened is local government won’t cooperate with our federal partners, and you see this breakdown. It’s absolutely senseless,” Miyares stated. “This person was in our country and was able to harm others when he had [a] prior criminal history, some of which were violent acts, and this person still was in our country and was able to commit this unspeakable crime. It is simply unjustified and inexcusable.”
Some people of Herndon are describing what transpired in their town with those terms.
Although the community of Herndon united in prayer this week, many locals remain horrified and surprised that the rape occurred on what was believed to be a family-friendly route.
Regarding the trail where the lady was raped, a Herndon resident said, “It scares me because there are so many kids that go to this school and walk home, people around the neighborhood come walking around all the time.”
According to Miyares, legislation requiring local jurisdictions to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be passed by the Virginia General Assembly.
Sheriff Stacey Kincaid of Fairfax County does not currently honor ICE detainers.
A policy that forbids the Fairfax County Police Department from collaborating with ICE and federal immigration authorities, including deporting non-citizens who commit violent crimes in Fairfax County, was passed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Fairfax County Chair Jeff McKay.
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“We’re seeing real lives being impacted, real Virginians being hurt, because they’ve adopted this criminal first, victim last mindset, and it’s heartbreaking to see,” Miyares stated.
“There will be bills this session requiring local government to cooperate with federal authorities,” Miyares stated. “There will be bills this session, for example, felony homicide against our fentanyl dealers, poisoning our kids. So you’re going to see a host of really solid public safety common sense bills yet again. And my hope is we don’t need all of them, we just need a few, a few Democrats on the other side of the aisle to look at this from a common sense perspective and to advance them, because the broad, broad percentage of Virginians support this. This is an outrageous act of violence that came to Herndon in one of our charming areas of the Commonwealth. I’ve been to the Washington and Old Dominion trail. It’s a beautiful area. It’s commonly used by families and from those of young and old. The idea that this unspeakable act of violence that happened right there that so many Virginians use, I just find unconscionable. This needs to end, and it breaks down when you have local leaders who decide they’re not going to cooperate with federal authorities. They’re playing politics with people’s safety.”
