Thursday, January 3, 2013
An appeals court has denied a request to vacate an order for Wolfe's release, but has granted a stay that blocked him from leaving prison.
UPDATE (Thursday, 5:28 p.m.) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit today denied prosecutors' request to vacate an order for the release of former death row inmate Justin Wolfe—but granted a stay that blocked Wolfe from leaving prison at 5 p.m. Thursday. The court will hear arguments from the state later this month. ----- UPDATE (Thursday, 2:40 p.m.) The U.S. District Court and the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals have denied the Commonwealth's appeals regarding Justin Wolfe. Without intervention fromm the U.S. Supreme Court, Wolfe is expected to be released at 5 p.m. today (Thursday, Jan. 3). ---- Justin Michael Wolfe, a one-time death row inmate whose conviction related to the murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Federal judge: ‘bungled prosecution’ has deprived defendant of his right to a fair trial.
A Christmas Eve ruling by a federal judge could make the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe in the March 2001 murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. very difficult if not impossible. U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson, who previously vacated Wolfe’s 2002 conviction, has ordered Wolfe’s release and barred the state from using any testimony, past or present, from the man who admittedly killed Petrole. Jackson ruled that Wolfe must be released within 10 days, but the state is able to appeal the decision. Owen Merton Barber IV testified at Wolfe’s 2002 trial that he killed Petrole at Wolfe's request. Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert told Barber’s sentencing judge that if not for his testimony Wolfe would not …
Friday, December 14, 2012
A federal judge must first consider whether the state has complied with his previous orders before he decides whether to grant relief to Justin Wolfe.
Attorneys for Justin Michael Wolfe argued during a hearing in federal court Thursday that a Sept. 11, 2012, confrontation between the original Prince William prosecutors and a key witness has so tainted the case that Wolfe cannot get a fair trial related to the March 15, 2001, murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. The same federal court previously vacated Wolfe’s conviction for ordering Petrole’s murder, based in part on admitted triggerman Owen Merton Barber IV’s testimony in November 2010 that Wolfe was not involved. The case was remanded back to Prince William prosecutors, who withdrew from the case a day after hauling Barber into the assistant warden’s office and explaining he could still face capital punishment during a meeting recorded…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Prosecutors reportedly threaten triggerman and are ordered to appear Thursday in Norfolk to show cause why Chantilly man should not be released.
A federal judge has ordered Virginia prosecutors to appear in court Thursday to discuss the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe and to explain why the original prosecutors are alleged to have pressured the triggerman in the case to testify on their behalf. Wolfe spent nearly a decade on death row before Judge Raymond A. Jackson vacated convictions related to the March 15, 2001 murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the decision, the state was given 120 days to re-try or release Wolfe. A trial is set for January in Prince William County Circuit Court, so it’s unclear if the progress toward the trial concerned Jackson, who appeared more concerned about a visit paid by Prince William …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Transcripts of witness who recently died can be used, but defendant’s testimony excluded.
In a lengthy pre-trial hearing Tuesday, Judge Mary Grace O’Brien sorted through what would be admissible in the re-trial of Justin Michael Wolfe for the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. Owen Merton Barber IV testified against Wolfe at trial, but most recently told a federal judge and prosecutors that Wolfe was not involved. That judge threw out Wolfe’s conviction for the murder as well as a drug-distribution conviction. Now a Fairfax County prosecutor has stepped in to re-try Wolfe in the Prince William Circuit Court and the defense has balked at the notion of using testimony from Wolfe’s first trial—where the federal courts found prosecutors intentionally withheld information that could have helped Wolfe’s defense. The more curious …
Friday, August 17, 2012
A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court’s decision overturning a murder-for-hire conviction.
Virginia and Prince William County prosecutors were handed another rebuke by a federal court related to the trial of Justin Michael Wolfe, whose conviction for ordering the murder of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. was overturned last year. Wolfe, 31, from Chantilly, learned Thursday that the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court ruling that convictions and sentences related to the death of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. should not stand, primarily because of the lack of disclosure of exculpatory evidence by the prosecutors. Wolfe’s family was tempered in their elation, being mindful that the case centered on the death of another young man. “We must never forget the victim of this crime,” said Terri Steinberg, Wolfe’s mother, in…
Thursday, September 8, 2011
After vacation of all convictions, Chantilly man awaits state appeal.
Justin Michael Wolfe left the cell that he has called home for the past nine years Wednesday after the Virginia State Department of Corrections released the Chantilly man from death row and placed him in the Sussex II State Prison across the street. Wolfe’s convictions for murder-for-hire, marijuana distribution and a gun charges related to the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. all were vacated by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson earlier this year. Triggerman Owen Merton Barber IV, who testified in 2001 that Wolfe ordered the murder, told Jackson that Wolfe had nothing to do with the crime and that prosecutors – and even his own defense attorney – said he could only escape a capital trial by testifying against his …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Former Chantilly High School student, on death row nearly a decade, could walk free.
Justin Michael Wolfe, whose 2002 murder-for-hire was previously vacated, remains on death row as the state appeals a judge’s order in the case, but he learned yesterday that if the order holds up he might walk free. A new order from U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson clarifies a previous order that vacated Wolfe’s conviction and sentence on the murder-for-hire. The new order states Wolfe’s “conviction is VACATED on all counts,” including a gun charge and marijuana distribution. For any of those charges, prosecutors must retry Wolfe or release him within 120 days. It’s unlikely either would actually occur within that time because a stay could be ordered by the federal courts while the state appeals the decision. Nonetheless, the …
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Even without murder charges, Justin Wolfe faces 20 years—while dealers up the chain now walk free.
Several steps remain for Justin Michael Wolfe, the death row inmate whose conviction and death sentence have been vacated, before he would be able to consider murder-for-hire charges behind him. And even if Wolfe walks away from those charges – a likely appeal and potential re-trial are anticipated related to the 2001 murder of Centreville's Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. – 20 years remain on his sentence for dealing marijuana. The Virginia Attorney General has 30 days from the date of U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson’s order to notify the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals whether the state will appeal the case. If the state appeals, then the losing side at the 4th Circuit would have the opportunity to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the …
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Says prosecution suppressed evidence that points to other people with a motive to kill Daniel Petrole.
In a sweeping decision that scolded Prince William County prosecutors, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson has vacated the sentence and conviction of Justin Michael Wolfe, who has been on Virginia’s death row for nearly a decade. Wolfe was convicted and sentenced in 2002 for ordering the murder of his marijuana dealer, Daniel Robert Petrole Jr. The triggerman in the case, Owen Merton Barber IV, testified against Wolfe at trial, but told the Eastern District Court of Virginia in November 2010 that Wolfe was not involved. Jackson found “Barber’s demeanor and candor persuasive” at the November evidentiary hearing, according to his decision. “The Commonwealth’s capital murder case against Wolfe can best be described as tenuous,” …
Bob
7:38 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
So what was Owen Barber's motive for killing Danny Petrole if Justin Wolfe is removed from the mix? more ›