Trial Date Set For Man Accused of Home Invasion

A man accused of orchestrating a home invasion that ended in the murder of a heroic handyman will stand trial in federal court this December. 

On Aug. 9, District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered that the trial for Tasheik Ashanti Champean, of Maryland, begin on Dec. 10. Champean is charged with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, two counts of use of a firearm during a violent crime and three counts of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. 

Trenga further ordered that any motions in the case be filed by Oct. 12, and any hearing on the motions be held on Nov. 9. 

On Aug. 3, the Attorney General directed prosecutors not to seek the death penalty against Champean, according to a document filed by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

A grand jury indicted Champean in June, alleging that he 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 the weapons to a Centreville mansion on Compton Rd., the grand jury charged in the indictment.

During the invasion, Jose Rosales Cardona, a Manassas Park resident and the handyman at the house, was shot and killed while trying to defend the Centreville family. The case yielded few leads for over a year, and in 2011  for more information on the case.

Prather pleaded guilty to weapons charges early this year, and .  

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