Defense attorneys for Justin Michael Wolfe last week presented the clearest picture yet of possible alternate theories in the March 15, 2001, murder of a Centreville man, that they say should free Wolfe from a death sentence.

Prosecutors remain adamant that Wolfe, 29, is responsible.

A Prince William County jury convicted Wolfe in 2002 of hiring Owen Merton Barber IV to execute Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. Wolfe is on death row, where he has spent most of his nine and a half years of incarceration. 

Barber, 30, testified against Wolfe at trial, but recanted that story in 2005 and again during an evidentiary hearing for Wolfe that concluded Nov. 17. Without Barber's testimony, the case against Wolfe would have been only circumstantial. As in Wolfe's 2002 trial, his attorneys targeted Barber's roommate, Jason Coleman, as a potential conspirator in the murder. The difference this time: Coleman took the stand.

Wolfe purchased high-grade marijuana from Petrole, and Barber had testified at Wolfe's trial that Wolfe ordered the murder to escape a drug debt. Barber testified before a federal court this month that there was never a deal with Wolfe to kill Petrole. Barber also testified that Wolfe was not aware of his plans that night.

Background

Wolfe has always maintained his innocence and was granted the evidentiary hearing after the U.S. 4^tth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back down to the U.S General District Court for the Eastern District. The 4^th Circuit ordered the District Court to conduct the hearing and determine whether evidence not disclosed to Wolfe prior to trial would have helped him assemble a better defense at trial by casting suspicion on other individuals.

On Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, the state had the opportunity to respond to issues raised by Wolfe's attorneys during the first two days of the hearing on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3. Wolfe's trial prosecutors–Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert and assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Richard A. Conway–testified, along with several detectives.

Wolfe's defense team from the beginning has alleged a conspiracy involving undisputed triggerman Barber, Coleman and a third associate named Robert Holmes "JR" Martin. Martin admits handing Barber the keys to his car the night of the murder, and knowing a gun would be taken. Barber bought the murder weapon months earlier from Coleman, they both have stated.

On Nov. 2, Judge Raymond A. Jackson wanted to know who asked Barber to follow Petrole on the night of the murder, if not Wolfe? Barber identified Coleman, 36, and Martin, 30, for the first time on public record. Coleman and Martin were the first people, according to prosecutors, to identify Wolfe as the likely mastermind.

"Our position on this case was that Martin, Barber and Coleman were all involved," said Daniel King, a partner at King & Spalding, a corporate law firm working on the case pro bono. "It has been our contention that, contrary to the case by prosecutors at trial, there were connections between Owen Barber and Danny Petrole."

Coleman and Martin have always denied involvement in Petrole's murder. And Coleman provided testimony on Wolfe's behalf at the hearing, saying Barber claimed in the days after the murder to have acted alone. Coleman failed to show up during the first two days of the hearing this month, but turned himself in after the judge issued a warrant for him to appear.

Testimony and evidence at the hearing  

During the hearing, Coleman explained the influence he had on Barber.

"If I told him to take a baseball bat to somebody's head, he would have done it," Coleman said.

The defense theories suggest Petrole's drug suppliers–those above him, rather than below him in the drug trade–also could have been involved. Police reports that were not disclosed to Wolfe prior to his trial refer to rumors that Barber knew Petrole and had recently refused to pay a drug debt. There were also indications that Petrole and his partner, Paul Gunning, had angered a middleman in the drug trade who provided marijuana from Seattle.

King said if such information had been given to Wolfe's defense prior to his trial, attorneys could have built a "very plausible theory … that Mr. Petrole was killed because of his drug activity."

The Virginia Capital Defense Resource Center and the Innocence Project, which enabled a group of University of Virginia law students to analyze police records released recently from the case, worked closely with the King & Spalding attorneys on Wolfe's behalf.

Senior assistant attorneys general Matthew P. Dullaghan and Katherine Baldwin Burnett represented the state at the hearing.

Police records and testimony presented during the hearing indicate that Petrole had secured marijuana suppliers in Vermont, Washington state, Texas and Pennsylvania, and an Ecstasy supplier in New York.

According to interviews revealed from police reports, Gunning had "pissed off" one of their suppliers by going directly to that person's source, meaning that person could be cut out of the profits. Petrole's girlfriend told police the angered supplier canceled plans to move in with Petrole and Gunning in the Manassas community of Braemar because of the rift. A separate police report states that the same person was in the DC area within days of Petrole's murder.

When asked after the murder whether it was Petrole's drug dealers who killed him, Gunning told police, "It was." However, he also clarified in the same interview that he did not know that to be true with certainty.

New evidence raises questions

Prosecutors were quick to point out a lack of evidence connecting Barber to Petrole's suppliers. But contrary to testimony at Wolfe's trial, evidence revealed during the recent hearing suggests there were more potential connections between Barber and Petrole than previously revealed.

For example, it was not known at Wolfe's trial that Petrole's girlfriend worked at a bar where Coleman bartended at the time, which is the same bar where, Barber claimed at trial, the murder plan was hatched.

Around the time of the murder, Barber and Martin were hanging out together regularly, according to testimony at Wolfe's trial, often at the apartment where Barber lived with Coleman. 

Several people suggested Barber and Petrole knew each other directly, with one even describing a conversation the two had, according to police records displayed at the hearing. Investigators said no credible evidence surfaced to support those assertions.

"To my knowledge, police did go and found no evidence to substantiate any of those claims," Conway said.

The two lead investigators could not verify whether several specific statements were pursued and couldn't find any reports discrediting the assertions.

"You don't always get a report when you follow a lead that goes nowhere," Conway said.

It's unclear how investigators, particularly when examining a cold file, would know whether such a lead was ever pursued without a record on file.

Prosecutors adamantly defended their work in the case, saying the motive became clear in their minds about three days after the murder, long before Barber's arrest.

"We had pretty much established what we needed to look at in this case," Conway said, explaining people pointed the finger at Wolfe immediately. "At the time, we already had information from Mr. Martin's and Mr. Coleman's statements."

Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Petrole's suppliers had him killed or that they knew Barber, Martin or Coleman.

"I don't think this information provides a motive and opportunity to be involved in the murder that took place of Danny Petrole," Conway said, referring to the defense theory. "All the contacts were with Mr. Wolfe. Who had something to gain? That was Wolfe, not the suppliers."

Prosecutors also said they believed they had adequately investigated a report of someone driving a car to the crime scene and leaving shortly after the shooting.

"There were a number of vehicles in the area," Conway said. "The police tracked down leads as best they [could.]"

A description of such a vehicle–given by Petrole's neighbor at the time, who testified at the hearing–roughly matches a second car owned by Barber that he signed over to Coleman in the days after the murder before fleeing town. It also matches a car driven by the person supposedly angered after learning he could potentially be cut out of lucrative drug profits by Petrole and Gunning.

Significance of new evidence disputed

Without evidence to back it up, prosecutors said they do not need to report such information to defendants.

"To me, rumors are so speculative they are not considered exculpatory," Ebert said.

Even with Barber now saying Wolfe was not involved, prosecutors assert ample circumstantial evidence exists to win a conviction.

"This is one of the strongest circumstantial cases that we've had," Ebert said.

Conway said the case would have moved forward with or without Barber. "Owen Barber was certainly a main witness … could be said to be a key witness. He was not indispensible."

Those comments differ from what Ebert said during Barber's sentencing in 2002: "Certainly [Barber] has cooperated for the Commonwealth. But for his testimony, Mr. Wolfe probably would not have been prosecuted."

Other details

Besides asserting Wolfe's innocence, Barber also testified that his "former friend" Martin was in the car as he pursued and murdered Petrole. And he stated during the defense presentation at the hearing that he followed Petrole because Martin and Coleman had asked him to talk to the young drug dealer, but he offered no further information about those orders.

Martin denied riding with Barber during the murder or asking him to talk to Petrole, but acknowledged being with Barber most of the day and letting Barber borrow his car. Martin also said he met Barber back at his apartment after the murder and Barber told him what he had done. After attempting to clean up some damage to Martin's car, the two headed to a bar where Coleman helped them cut ahead of a long line to meet friends, including Wolfe.

Barber not only lived with Coleman at the time of the murder, but also obtained the mobile phone he regularly used at the time as well as the murder weapon from Coleman. Barber also signed a car over to Coleman as he fled town.

Investigators said Martin and Coleman both lied during initial meetings, then changed their stories after obtaining attorneys.

Walburn, the lead homicide investigator, said Coleman became a suspect early on. "That was always there until we could figure out otherwise," she said.

Conway said Coleman's actions at the time were somewhat suspect. "Mr. Coleman was very reluctant [to testify]," Conway said. "In fact, he was reluctant to talk at first."

Ebert described Coleman as unreliable, "sort of the used car salesman type. He fancied himself as a sort of mentor to these young folks involved in this case."

Lead homicide investigator Brenda Walburn said there were discrepancies in Martin's story about when Barber left with his car and when they met again after the murder.

Ebert and Conway said they trusted Martin's word over that of Barber's after putting the two in a room together to determine who was being more honest by observation.

"I was concerned that JR knew more than he told us in regard to the murder," Ebert said. "When I look people in the eye, I can assess … somewhat what their credibility is."

Martin denies having any certain knowledge ahead of time that Barber intended to kill Petrole. At some point, Martin said, Barber told Martin he planned to shoot someone in the kneecaps.

"I didn't take him seriously," Martin said, but he was concerned enough about the gun he knew Barber had that he didn't want to get in the car. Barber asked him to go, Martin said, but "I wouldn't go."

At that 2001 meeting with prosecutors, Martin said, he told Barber "I didn't know you were going to go kill somebody.'"

Ebert testified this week that the meeting accomplished his goal of discerning the truth because Barber appeared to back down first.

"After hearing his last statement in the presence of Barber, I felt he was telling the truth," he said.

When asked Tuesday whether he rode along with Barber on the murder route, Martin said, "Was I in the car? No. I was never in that car when he drove off."

Martin's alibis for not being in the car with Barber were not backed by evidence presented in court. The details Martin suggests would provide the evidence include the word of his girlfriend, the word of another friend who allegedly gave Martin a ride to his girlfriend's house that night and a receipt where Martin supposedly purchased ice cream at a Food Lion far away from the murder location.

Prosecutors and Martin contradicted each other about whether Martin faced charges either for murder or for drugs. Prosecutors said Martin had an agreement in which his statements would not be used against him if he testified truthfully, which is reflected in a 2001 disclosure of exculpatory evidence. Martin denied having any agreement under oath Tuesday.

"There was no deal," he said.

Prosecutors acknowledged they never pursued evidence against Martin for drug charges.

Martin first called police to turn Barber in the Sunday after the murder because he learned part of his license plate number had been spotted and knew authorities would soon catch up to him.

Judge Jackson asked Ebert if he thought putting witnesses in a room together prior to trial could influence testimony and cause someone to say something other than the truth.

"Potentially, it does, your honor," Ebert said. "It could influence somebody's testimony, but I don't believe that it did in this case."

Coleman's role

And while Wolfe's attorneys may be pointing the finger at Coleman as one possible theory in the murder, they also have questioned whether he offered exculpatory evidence to police that was not disclosed.

Coleman and prosecutors dispute whether he told them Barber once acknowledged acting alone in the murder. Coleman denied prosecutors' assertions that he identified Wolfe early in the investigation, although he told that to a journalist in 2002.

"They said, 'we know you did it, you shot him, you had weed in your house,'" Coleman testified Tuesday.

State attorneys wanted Coleman to understand that Wolfe's attorneys were pointing the finger at him now. He said he was just trying to do a friend a favor.

"They just wanted me to help my friend get off death row," Coleman said, adding that Wolfe's attorneys told him "my testimony can be critical in overturning [Wolfe's] murder conviction."

Coleman should have few concerns about being charged because prosecutors have stated in the past, and Walburn stated during the hearing, that no evidence points to him.  

"Nothing indicated that Jason Coleman was directly involved with this," Walburn said.

The state and Wolfe's attorneys now have the opportunity to bolster their cases by filing briefs with the court before Judge Jackson issues an opinion in the matter. There is no set date for Jackson's decision, which may result in abandoning Wolfe's conviction or upholding it. Regardless, the losing side will likely appeal again to the 4^th Circuit.

Dusty Smith, editor of Ashburn Patch, has reported on the Justin Wolfe case for publications in northern Virginia for nearly nine years. 

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Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated "Ebert and Partridge said they trusted Martin's word over that of Barber..." It should have read "Ebert and Conway." Also, we incorrectly cited the name of a local bar. We have corrected the errors.