Former Metro Bus Driver Sentenced in Centreville Home Invasion Death

A former Metro bus driver faces over 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to orchestrating a Centreville home invasion that led to the death of a local handyman. 

Stacy Lorenzo Reed, of Manassas, was sentenced in federal court Friday to 270 months in prison, with credit for time served, followed by three years of supervised release. 

Reed pleaded guilty to robbery and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence in April, but the case was sealed at that time. It remained under seal until this week (some documents are still not publicly available). 

Two other charges against Reed were dropped as part of his plea agreement. Reed also agreed to provide investigators with additional information about the case, which remained unsolved for over a year before there were any arrests. 

“Nothing can bring back the life that was taken during this horrific crime, but today’s sentence sends a clear message that there are severe consequences for all those who conspire to commit crimes,” U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said.  “Mr. Reed, while not physically present at the murder, put this tragic and terrifying sequence of events in motion. He will now have over 20 years in federal prison to contemplate his greed fueled involvement in the crime.”

Reed admitted orchestrating the May 17, 2010, robbery near Compton Road, in which the family's handyman, Jose Rosales Cardona, a Guatemalan immigrant who lived in Manassas Park, lost his life. Two others, Tasheik Ashanti Champean and Reynard Prather, have already been sentenced for their roles in the home invasion. 

In court documents, Reed admitted having "inside information" on the family, who owned a check cashing business and apparently kept a sizeable amount of money in their home. On the day of the invasion, he met Champean and Prather in a shopping center in Virginia, where they met an unidentified man. 

Reed drove the two men to the home in Champean's vehicle, followed by the unidentified man in a pickup truck, according to court documents. After they arrived, Reed dropped off Champean and Prather, then left in Champean's vehicle. The other man stayed behind on a nearby side road as the getaway driver. 

Champean and Prather, both armed with semiautomatic pistols, walked through the woods to the residence, where they saw the victim depart. One of the garage doors was left open, so the two entered and waited for the victim to return. A family member and Cardona discovered the two, however, and a struggle broke out. 

"In the midst of the struggle, a shot was fired, and Cardona fell dead to the driveway in front of the garage, a single bullet having passed through his left hand, entering into his brain through his left eye," a document signed by Reed states. 

Reed, Champean, Prather and the unidentified man met up at a shopping center in Fairfax. 

"Although Reed did not know that Champean or Prather were armed, he acknowledges that it was reasonably foreseeable that one or both of them might be armed to further the goals or objectives of the conspiracy," the document signed by Reed states.