PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Charges against a man accused of a 2017 murder in Portsmouth were dismissed on Monday after the judge found that prosecutors failed to deliver a speedy trial.
More than six-and-a-half years after the shooting, Alexander Weinschel's motion to dismiss the case violating his rights to a speedy trial was granted.
Weinschel had been in jail without bond since his arrest on Feb. 6, 2018. The second-degree murder and use of a firearm charges stemmed from the slaying of Joshua Sykes on Sept. 4, 2017.
Weinschel and his brother Zebulon were both identified as suspects and arrested in connection to that deadly shooting.
He had his preliminary hearing date in August 2019, then less than a month later was indicted by a grand jury in Portsmouth Circuit Court.
Although it appears it was agreed that Weinschel's initial trial date was Feb. 24, 2020, his attorneys, Steven Mirman and Emily Munn, argue that it was never formally scheduled as "there is no transcript, record, or letter from counsel confirming same."
According to the motion, there was "no justification" to set the date beyond the statutory period of five months and there is no record that Weinschel waived his right to a speedy trial.
Further, his attorneys claim no continuance order was ever issued until Jan. 8, 2022, to June 6, 2022.
"He was held beyond the five-month period at the outset, then suffered unavoidable delays due to the pandemic, and then suffered further delays due to his codefendant brother's case being continued to which his court-appointed attorneys agreed," the motion states.
Kenneth Gainey, Sykes' uncle, accuses attorneys for the Commonwealth of mishandling the case and communicating poorly with the family.
"It's hurtful that we didn't even have a trial to say, 'Hey, this is what happened,'" said Gainey.
Gainey also said an attorney representing the Commonwealth only told his family about the defense's motion privately shortly before the judge's ruling.
"To receive that seconds before the judge announced that, of course, that sent the whole family in awe," said Gainey.
Gainey said the family worries about the outcome of Zebulon Weinschel's court hearing scheduled for Friday. Proceedings for a jury trial last week were withdrawn, online records show.
Alexander's case was just the latest of several criminal cases in Portsmouth that have been dismissed for errors in the court's process, including a first-degree murder case and a separate child abuse case.
These dismissals prompted Attorney General Jason Miyares to write to Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales, which resulted in the two meeting to discuss how they could collaborate to secure convictions.
While it's unclear what exactly was discussed, both attorneys called the meeting "productive."
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office issued the following statement to 13News Now on Friday:
"Pursuant to office policy rooted in state law, no cases are to be set outside of the time allotted within Virginia law without an agreement with defense counsel that the time will not be charged to the Commonwealth.
"All office attorneys are required to follow protocol including having command of the standing of cases preceding their assignment, working with defense counsel to ensure orders are endorsed and entered and effective communication with families. In any circumstance where attorneys do not follow directives resulting in abnormalities, offending parties are held accountable. This office has now sought all available information regarding the initial setting of this case.
This office has been in communication with the impacted family and has met in person for continued discussion on standing of this matter and for accountability. The prosecutors now assigned to this case will pursue all available remedies under the law."
Miyares Spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita wrote in a statement, "The Attorney General’s offer to lend support and resources to the Portsmouth CA’s office remains open, so we can support victims and hold violent criminals accountable."