Pinckney will stand trial as adult
A Prince William County judge, after barring reporters from the transfer hearing Wednesday morning, found enough evidence to send the case against a teen charged with double murder to a grand jury.
Xavier Pinckney, 17, faces two charges of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 39-year-old Jean Smith and her 19-year-old son, James.
Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Janice J. Wellington ordered that the Dale City teen will be tried as an adult.
“It is an extremely serious case, it is capital case,” said Prince William Commonwealth Attorney Paul Ebert.
Before hearing both testimony and evidence in the case, Wellington agreed Wednesday to keep reporters out of the courtroom during Pinckney’s first hearing.
Mark Crossland, a defense attorney for Pinckney, said he had no legal precedent for asking that the hearings should be closed to reporters, but Pinckney’s chances of receiving a fair trail would be jeopardized if reporters were allowed to remain inside the courtroom.
Will Jarvis, a prosecutor in the case, said inaccurate reporting on the murders had caused undue stress for the Smith family.
Family members of Jean and Jim Smith were in the courtroom, sitting in the same room as the accused killer for the first time.
“It’s been a very emotional day. Hearing the details spelled out was obviously very jarring,” said Marty Nohe, a spokesman for the family. “We didn’t hear anything we didn’t already know, but it was very emotional to hear it spelled out step by step.”
Members of Pinckney’s family were also present at Wednesday’s hearing. One woman who later refused to talk to reporters wiped away tears as the 17-year-old appeared in the courtroom.
Jean Smith’s father, Jim Maloney, said his son-in-law, Rick Smith, has kept in close contact with prosecutors. He said his grandchildren have all returned to school.
He said they are trying to move with their lives as best they can, and will be taking part in a Fredericksburg St. Patrick’s celebration next month.
The victims are survived by Jean’s husband and Jim’s father, Rick Smith, and his three children.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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Reader Reactions
... who was it who once said…. “live by the sword, die by the sword” this perp should “die by the sword” My heart and prayers go out to the Smith family.
Hey,Casanova Frankenstein. This guy is being tried as an adult and as such can get the death penalty. Like I said, this guy is an incorageable and should be put away for life. He is a done deal.
vmj is correct. Ebert is, and always has been, a publicity hound. He only shows up for press conferences and fund raisers. Not very effective as stated but, like law enforcement and the justice system in general, just want to make you feel secure. Like the line in a current movie that’s out says, not paranoid, just informed. This society isn’t safe, it’s misinformed.
Hey, VMJ. The Capital Murder charge is next to meaningless. XP was a juvenile and can’t get the death penalty in this case. It is all for show. Most likely to cover up the fact that XP had several arrests, but apparently only one conviction from press accounts. Sounds as if Ebert’s office either let this punk off with a slap on the wrist previous times or else botched the prosecution (either of which is highly likely.)
Since Police can’t be everywhere all the time, you gotta take care of your own. I did’t hear you endorse defending yourself.
And, the Police can’t and shouldn’t be doling out punishment. Here’s where the lack of consequences and over abundant sense of entitlement are causes that could be “fixed.“
Used to be people would report a crime, the police would round them up and they would receive an appropriate mind altering sentence.
That doesn’t work for every criminal but for those it didn’t there was more.
Now those that abuse the rights of others are more important than the victim.
It’s more than reporting, it’s taking care where “the common good” concept fails.
I knew that Attorney Paul Ebert would go for nothing less than trying him as an adult and going for capital murder. And yes the police probably did know this guy was trouble but so did his parents so why didn’t they commit this boil on society. This guy has been a problem for a long time and should have been dealt with from a myriad of people. He is a nut case and there are a whole lot of them still out there.
Mr. Crossland,
May your client get as fair a trial as Jim and Jean did when you client chose to play judge and executioner. Good luck with this one ...
someguy, there are ALOT of people that the police are aware of, but they can not be everywhere at everytime. See something strange, report….see something not right, report….want something done, report. They may not be able to get there at that time, BUT it gets recorded into the system AND law enforcement uses that information as a means to focus attention on. If you do not say that anything is wrong, then guess what, nothings wrong. (kind of like Chris Brown and Rihanna)
Good News. Justice!
Live like an uncivilized animal, die as such…..
Hope someone gets a hold of him in prison wherever he lands and gives him a good beat down…...
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