Man Indicted for Role in Home Invasion Death

A federal grand jury has indicted a man on weapons charges for his alleged role in the 2010 death of a Manassas Park man during a home invasion at a Centreville mansion.

The grand jury charged with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, using a firearm in a crime of violence and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. The jury further alleged that the motivation was to rob the owners of the mansion, who Champean believed kept money on hand from their check-cashing business. During the scuffle, Jose Rosales Cardona was killed.

Cardona, married and a father of two children, had moved to Manassas Park from Guatemala. He obtained steady work as a handyman and gardener at a home off of Compton Road in Centreville. Two years ago, on May 17, 2010, from armed gunmen who broke into their home.

The indictment alleges that Champean—also known as Douglas A. Howell—met up with Reynard Lazaro Prather and one other man, "John Doe #1," in Prince George's County, Md. Champean allegedly gave Prather a duffel bag with a loaded semi-automatic pistol, in addition to a taser and flex cuffs they then carried to the mansion.

The indictment, first reported by The Washington Examiner, came shortly before Prather is to  in the conspiracy. Sentencing guidelines call for anywhere from 360 days to life in prison.

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