Latest news with #AugustaCountyCommonwealth
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Assault charge won't be pursued against former CEO of Nexus Services Inc.
Mike Donovan, the former CEO of Nexus Services Inc., will not be facing an assault and battery charge after the Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office opted to not pursue the misdemeanor case. On May 27, the decision was made in Augusta County General District Court to not prosecute the charge. Donovan had been accused of assaulting 25-year-old Zachary Cruz at his Fishersville home, where Cruz lived for several years. Cruz is the younger brother of Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Shortly after the shooting, Donovan and his husband, Richard Moore, took in the younger Cruz and moved him to Virginia. He lived with the couple until recently. Zachary Cruz is also listed as the victim in a current Augusta County theft case involving Donovan and Moore, also a former Nexus executive. Another former Nexus executive, Timothy Shipe, is implicated in the alleged scheme as well. The trio is accused of orchestrating the theft of $426,000 from Cruz and are scheduled to be tried in September in front of a jury. Cruz and his brother received an insurance payout following the death of their mother prior to the school massacre. Donovan and Moore face two charges each of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and obtaining money by false pretenses in the alleged theft. Shipe is facing two felonies. Based on charges in the theft case, Cruz is considered a vulnerable adult. According to Virginia law, the term applies to any person 18 years of age or older who is impaired by reason of mental illness, intellectual or developmental disability, physical illness or disability, or other causes, and lacks a sufficient understanding to make reasonable decisions. Cruz has since moved out of Donovan and Moore's residence and is being assisted by Adult Protective Services, according to Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Katie Jackson. Cruz also recently went missing but was safely located. Jackson said his brief disappearance didn't have an impact on the case, and said the decision to not pursue the assault charge against Donovan was an effort to focus on the upcoming September jury trial on the theft allegations. "It was not in the best interest of justice at this time," Jackson said when asked about not prosecuting Donovan on the misdemeanor charge. More: Summer Reading Game, public workshop, Genius Hour and Waynesboro Walmart: THE DIGEST Donovan was suspected of assaulting Cruz on March 9. The two were in a verbal argument concerning a dog before the incident allegedly turned physical, and Donovan was accused of wrestling Cruz to the ground. At an earlier court hearing, Donovan told the court that Cruz was the aggressor during the incident and said he was certain he would be found not guilty on the misdemeanor assault charge. Donovan, Moore and Shipe all remain free on bond. However, Moore will be sentenced May 29 in federal court in Harrisonburg after pleading guilty in January to two charges of tax fraud for bilking the IRS out of nearly $3.2 million while he worked at Nexus. The once high-flying company, which provided bond securitization for immigrants held or released from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saw its Verona campus auctioned off for $3.4 million in 2023 after the property went into foreclosure. Nexus pulled in an estimated $230 million while in operation for nearly a decade or so. Court files state Nexus was sold last year in April for less than $5, the same month a federal judge ruled that Donovan, Moore, and minority owner Evan Ajin – along with Nexus and a subsidiary – pay $811 million for violating various state consumer protection laws and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. Moore, Donovan and Ajin were ordered to pay over $111 million each in the lawsuit. More: Augusta Springs man facing rape charge Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Assault charge against ex-Nexus Services Inc. CEO won't be pursued
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Jury trial begins Tuesday for Waynesboro man charged with murder
WAYNESBORO — A three-day jury trial for a Waynesboro man charged with murder is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Jacob P. Sipe, 24, pleaded not guilty on March 14 during his arraignment to charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting at or into an occupied dwelling, and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Sipe is accused of killing 33-year-old Trevor Hill of Waynesboro on the front porch of his James Avenue home the morning of July 23. Hill's 2-year-old son was in the residence at the time of the killing, resulting in the contributing charge. The two men spent several hours together before the shooting, with Sipe arriving at Hill's home at 1 a.m. Sipe admitted to drinking liquor and using cocaine while at Hill's before falling asleep, according to court documents. He claimed he awoke to Hill screaming at him and said Hill began punching him. "I was fearful," Sipe said in a comment that was picked up by a Waynesboro police officer's body camera. The shooting took place at about 9 a.m. Sipe, who stayed at the scene, told a police officer he thought he "had no choice." When asked how many times he pulled the trigger, he estimated seven times and said Hill fell after the third shot. Hill was shot multiple times with a Beretta APX handgun. Sipe's nose was fractured during the incident. It was also revealed at an October bond hearing that Sipe became a father five days before the killing after his son was born prematurely and had to be hospitalized, his attorney said. More: Middle school football to launch in the fall after Augusta County School Board approves program Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Martin is handling the case as a special prosecutor, along with Augusta County Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Alexandra Meador, after Waynesboro Commonwealth's Attorney David Ledbetter and his staff stepped aside in August because of an undisclosed conflict of interest. At the bond hearing, Martin noted multiple shots were fired at Hill, and said most of them came from a distance. The prosecutor said a trail of shell casings led to Hill's body on the porch, with the last shot reportedly coming from relatively close range. "He emptied his gun into his friend while high on cocaine and alcohol," Martin said at the hearing. Denied bond, Sipe remains at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona. The murder trial will be held in Waynesboro Circuit Court with jury selection beginning Tuesday morning. The trial is scheduled to conclude Thursday. More: Nourishing Strides 5K, Project Grows youth program and SAW Housing Lunch & Learn: The Digest Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter) This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Three-day murder trial set to start Tuesday in Waynesboro
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
West Augusta man pleads guilty to being an accessory after the fact in shooting
STAUNTON — A West Augusta man was sentenced Monday for his role in a shooting that injured two partygoers last summer. Appearing in Augusta County Circuit Court on Monday, Matthew T. Cassell, 20, had a malicious wounding charge amended to a misdemeanor charge of being an accessory after the fact. He pleaded guilty to the lone charge. Three additional charges - aggravated malicious wounding and two gun charges - were not prosecuted in a plea deal with the Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Cassell's cousin, who was the shooter in the incident, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Feb. 6. The shooting took place the night of June 22 at 17 Buffalo Gap Highway in Churchville, where two female teenagers, ages 17 and 19, were wounded. Both victims were shot in the leg. The 19-year-old's injuries were more severe and she was flown to UVA Health in Charlottesville. Her leg was shattered in the shooting, and she had to learn to walk again after having a metal rod and screws placed in her leg. The other victim was shot above the ankle. The Cassells were part of a group that had gone to a small party that night but were asked to leave. With Matthew Cassell driving a Ford Mustang, Isaiah Cassell leaned over the roof of the car as it was leaving and fired into the crowd after grabbing his cousin's gun, according to previous testimony. Matthew Cassell continued driving away from the scene, ultimately resulting in the accessory charge. In the plea deal, he was sentenced to 12 months in jail with four months suspended, leaving him with an eight-month sentence that he already served. He was represented by Hannah Coffman of the Staunton Public Defender's Office. Augusta County Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Alexandra Meador said Mathew Cassell fully cooperated with authorities following his arrest, and said his version of events were corroborated by witnesses at the scene. "We believe he did not share the intent of the shooter at all," Meador said Monday following the conclusion of the case. More: Waynesboro man facing 25 charges of possessing child pornography turns himself in More: Former CEO for Nexus Services Inc. charged with assault and battery Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter) This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: West Augusta man pleads guilty in shooting case
