GUILTY VA - Heather Ciccone, 21, fatally shot, Spotsylvania County, 6 Dec 2015

[Soulmagent]

So, Keith Epps should retire or something . He has no interest in reporting apparently. imo.

So apparently I was finding tiny updates and not the full articles. So I am sorry Keith Epps. I think the full articles are very good. There is a new one today but I cant read it due to FLS 10 articles a month rule.

 

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There is a new one today but I cant read it due to FLS 10 articles a month rule.

The cached versions are usually available through google after a few hours, if that helps.

Defendant no longer in courtroom as prosecution rests: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_4f6db243-901b-5788-a9e4-b9b6e35a30f2.html

Joshua Christopher Williams was nowhere in sight Friday when prosecutors wrapped up their case against him in the Dec. 6, 2015, slaying of 21-year-old Heather Ciccone.

Several hours earlier, Williams told Judge Ricardo Rigual that he no longer wanted to be present for the proceedings. He was escorted from the courtroom before a string of inmates gave damaging testimony against him and a Spotsylvania County sheriff’s detective played phone calls from Wednesday night in which Williams appeared to be coordinating a fake alibi with his brother and the mother of his children, Danielle Long.

The prosecution used phone records and witnesses to lay out their case against Williams this week. Witnesses have included: a man who testified to selling Williams the gun and ammunition used to kill Ciccone; Jonathan Vejarano, who's also charged with Ciccone's murder and took the Fifth on the stand when asked if he killed her; and inmates who testified that Vejarano had told them about his involvement with the murder, saying that he had nightmares and was remorseful.

The inmates said Vejarano told them that agreed to kill Ciccone to pay off a debt and to receive standing in a local gang known as the G-Shyne Blood. He said Williams asked him to kill the woman in exchange for the equivalent of $5,000 worth of marijuana. Some of that included the forgiveness of a debt Vejarano already owed.

According to the second-hand story reported by the inmates, Vejarano said Williams was upset because he’d received a sexually transmitted disease that he’d passed onto Long. There were also reports that Williams believed that Ciccone was working for the police and was about to expose his drug operation.

There has been no evidence presented that Ciccone had an STD or was working for the police.

Inmates were told different stories about who went to the scene of the crime with Vejarano.

Some phone calls Williams made while in jail were also put into evidence, including one in which he tried to get one of his brothers to provide an alibi for him after saying another brother refused to go along with it.

After prosecution rested, defense made a motion to dismiss the case, which was denied. Defense's case will begin Monday. Williams will be allowed into the courtroom if he chooses to attend.

 

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Drug dealer says he sold accused killer the gun believed used to kill Heather Ciccone

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_8e9a767c-33b2-5a10-83e7-431222492d6e.html

From the article: "Bailiffs made everyone leave the courtroom following the disturbance and court was delayed for about an hour. When court resumed, Williams had been fitted with a device that would have enabled deputies to shock him if he acted out again. He did not."

I didn't know this was a thing, or that it was legal. Apparently it's called a "stun-cuff." At first all I could find was articles about their misuse, but I eventually found a couple of more general articles about them here: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/03/22/stun-cuffs-arrive-minnehaha-county/82125712/ and here (although this is closer to an opinion piece, really): https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/-handcuffs-shock-prisoners/396674/

 

[Soulmagent]

Brother of man on trial also arrested in Ciccone slaying case.


http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_44d025d4-c900-5150-89df-7150e706df9e.html

 

[Soulmagent]

[h=1]Spotsylvania jury convicts Joshua Williams of murder in death of Heather Ciccone[/h]

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/crime_courts/spotsylvania-jury-convicts-joshua-williams-of-murder-in-death-of/article_05993c7f-1cf2-57ed-9b39-14a6934dbd64.html

 

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Danielle Long (described throughout Williams's trial as being jealous of Heather Ciccone and harassing/threatening her) has been charged as an accessory after the fact; she was arrested in New Jersey this morning. She's also charged with conspiracy to commit perjury.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_4fc53b64-bcd3-5ba8-89cc-ce3f0191a2e7.html

During the six-day trial, prosecutors put on evidence showing that Long had become incensed a couple of months earlier after learning that Williams and Ciccone were in a physical relationship. She called Ciccone numerous times, including 137 times in one day, and went to her home to confront her on Oct. 10, 2015, according to testimony.

Long was also accused during the trial of creating fake Instagram pages to disparage Ciccone, claiming among other things that Ciccone was passing a sexually transmitted disease. There was no evidence that Ciccone actually had such a disease.

She also sent videos to friends of Ciccone in which she threatened her and said she deserved to be “popped,” according to the evidence.

 

[JerseyGirl]

An eight-day trial is scheduled to start May 29 for Jonathan Julian Vejarano, 28, who is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and possessing a firearm as a felon.

Vejarano is accused of shooting the 21-year-old Ciccone in the back of the head late Dec. 6, 2015, in a driveway on Piney Branch Road in Spotsylvania. He was arrested in March and has had previous scheduled trials delayed for various reasons, including a change of attorneys.

Vejarano's codefendant, Joshua Christopher Williams, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges last week. A jury recommended that Williams serve 38 years in prison. Vejarano briefly took the witness stand during Williams' trial and quickly invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

According to the evidence presented during Williams' trial, Vejarano told inmates in the Rappahannock Regional Jail that he killed Ciccone at the request of Williams, who was having a physical relationship with Ciccone.

The inmates said they were told that Williams wanted Ciccone dead because he believed she was setting him up for Spotsylvania narcotics detectives. Prosecutors said the mother of Williams' children, Danielle Long, convinced Williams to get rid of Ciccone because she was jealous of Ciccone's relationship with Williams. She accused Ciccone of passing along a sexually transmitted disease and of working for the police.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_70865b51-efea-5d27-adfd-003c46b5bed9.html

 

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Brother of convicted Ciccone killer granted bond in Spotsylvania: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_2e5a28eb-214e-5445-a561-c7af552e9b1f.html

Clinton Williams (who is accused of being an accessory after the fact of murder and conspiring to commit perjury) is out on bond, under house arrest with the exception of time spent working.

A judge Thursday granted a $50,000 bond to a man accused of helping his brother cover up the Dec. 6, 2015, slaying of 21-year-old Spotsylvania County resident Heather Ciccone.

A number of supporters were in court on Clinton Williams’ behalf Thursday and his employer, Mattern Staffing in Culpeper, wrote a glowing recommendation to the judge.

Clinton Williams would be allowed to go to work but otherwise would be under house arrest if he makes bond, according to Rigual’s ruling.

 

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Bond denied for Danielle Long: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/crime_courts/bond-denied-for-woman-charged-in-connection-with-heather-ciccone/article_532dccb0-5140-5fcd-96de-712d588784e4.html

A Spotsylvania circuit judge Thursday denied bond for a woman who was prominently mentioned in a recent murder trial for one of the men accused of killing county resident Heather Ciccone.

Danielle S. Long, 24, is charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder and conspiring to commit perjury. She was picked up at her residence in Bridgewater, N.J., on Dec. 29 and brought to the Rappahannock Regional Jail, where she remains.

Judge Ricardo Rigual denied attorney Jason Pelt's request for bond, saying he believes Long poses a danger to the community. Long, who said nothing during the brief hearing, left the courtroom in tears.

 

[Soulmagent]

Bond denied for Danielle Long: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/crime_courts/bond-denied-for-woman-charged-in-connection-with-heather-ciccone/article_532dccb0-5140-5fcd-96de-712d588784e4.html

So we have 3 more trials pretaining to this case.Clinton Willaims, Jonathan Vejarano and Dani Long.

 

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Joshua Williams is facing additional charges due to Ciccone's murder being a violation of parole related to previous convictions.

Convicted murderer in Ciccone slaying facing even more time in Spotsylvania: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_75ef5146-7cf7-5a8e-99cb-55a32ae65d85.html

Williams was back in Spotsylvania Circuit Court Wednesday via video conference from jail on charges that he violated his probation on previous convictions by killing Ciccone. He is facing the possibility of having 15 years that were previously suspended reinstated.

A trial on the probation violation charges was set for March 9, the same day as his scheduled murder sentencing. Attorney Matthew Muggeridge, one of two attorneys who represented Williams in the murder trial, was appointed to handle the new charges as well. Williams was clearly displeased with that decision, muttering an obscenity as he left the view of the camera

 

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Judge imposes 38-year sentence for Joshua Williams in Heather Ciccone murder case: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_846139b4-d5e0-5a0a-8eb0-5c7ea3057eb5.html

Judge Ricardo Rigual imposed the jury suggestion at the end of a sentencing hearing Friday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court.

Rigual could have reduced the sentence, but wasted little time in imposing the 38 years after hearing testimony from Williams and Ciccone's mother, Stacy Ciccone.

Stacy Ciccone teared up Friday as she testified about the devastating impact her daughter's "brutal execution," has had on her and her family. She called Williams a "menace to society" who deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison. [...]

Under cross examination, Williams said he was sorry about what happened to Ciccone, who he described as a friend, but insisted he had nothing to do with her death.

 

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Charges certified against Danielle Long in connection to Heather Ciccone case: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_901ab366-14f3-5298-a677-9d2c67f0d828.html

A judge Wednesday refused to reconsider an earlier decision that a woman charged with perjury-related offenses in connection with the highly publicized 2015 slaying of Spotsylvania County resident Heather Ciccone be held without bond.

Defense attorney Jason Pelt raised the bond issue at the end of a preliminary hearing in Spotsylvania General District Court in which a conspiracy to commit perjury charge against Danielle Long was sent to a grand jury. A second charge of being an accessory after the fact of murder was dropped, though it could be reinstated at a later date.

Judge Richard McGrath quickly declined to consider a new bond hearing and Long remains held without bond.

Long also has three other perjury-related charges against her. Not sure why the accessory after the fact charge was dropped; the article doesn't mention the reasoning behind that.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Jonathan J. Vejarano’s murder trial starts May 29.

Vejarano, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the Dec. 6, 2015, slaying of Spotsylvania resident Heather Ciccone. His trial is scheduled for eight days in Spotsylvania Circuit Court.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_fb31a916-f739-5844-b02a-bdb04c2f94e7.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

A judge again denied bond for a woman charged with perjury in connection with the 2015 slaying of Spotsylvania resident Heather Ciccone.

Danielle Sheree Long, 25, has been in jail since late December following her arrest on charges stemming from calls she received on Dec. 6 from the father of her two children, Joshua Christopher Williams.

Williams, 30, was on trial in connection with Ciccone’s murder at the time and has since been convicted and sentenced to 38 years in prison. Prosecutors allege that Williams called Long and his brother, Clinton Williams, from jail that night to seek help in establishing a phony alibi. Both Williams’ brother and Long are charged with multiple perjury charges as the result of the taped calls.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_fefe397b-0f83-5f0a-b5f2-38c5045b8188.html

 

[DexterMorgan]

Justice for Heather.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The murder trial of the man accused of shooting Spotsylvania County resident Heather Ciccone will start next week as scheduled .

Spotsylvania judge refuses to step down from trial of man charged with killing Heather Ciccone

 

[JerseyGirl]

Jonathan J. Vejarano's attorneys wasted no time Tuesday in attacking the credibility of felons who are expected to be key prosecution witnesses in his murder trial.

Trial begins in Spotsylvania for man accused of killing Heather Ciccone

 

[JerseyGirl]

Prosecution, defense wrap up cases in Spotsylvania murder trial

Both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases Tuesday afternoon in Spotsylvania Circuit Court. The jury is expected to hear closing arguments starting Wednesday morning before beginning its deliberations.

 

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Vejarano has been found guilty, and the jury recommended a sentence of life plus eight years. Sentencing will take place August 12: Spotsylvania jury convicts man of killing Heather Ciccone