Another sign on Liberty St. in Manassas - this one is legal

A sign at 9500 Liberty St. in Manassas is legal under new city regulations.

By: Keith Walker | Inside NoVA
Published: October 01, 2009

Gaudencio Fernandez has put up a new sign at 9500 Liberty St. in Manassas, and this one is legal.

The sign, accusing a Manassas police officer of racism, meets new regulations put in place by the Manassas Council over the summer, said Liz Via, the city’s director of community development.

“It appears to be 32 square feet from the public right-of-way,” Via said.

The sign, on property co-owned by Fernandez, calls for the release of Rogelio Garcia-Madina, who was arrested Jan. 6 for assaulting Manassas police Officer Edwin Rivera.

According to court records, Garcia-Madina entered an Alford plea of guilty to assault of a police officer Monday in Prince William Circuit Court.

In an Alford plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but admits that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.

The sign explicitly calls Rivera a racist.

It reads: “Freedom for Rogelio Garcia-Medina incarcerated since 1-06-09 with false charges, by racist, city police officer Edwin Rivera … justice X indigenous people.”

Manassas police Chief John J. Skinner said he couldn’t discuss the particulars of an investigation involving Rivera, but said the officer was cleared of all charges.

“I’m limited to releasing that there was an extensive internal affairs investigation involving officer Rivera in which he was exonerated of any wrongdoing,” Skinner said.

Garcia-Madina was sentenced to eight months in jail.

Jail officials said he was being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

Fernandez has erected at least three signs on the property at the intersection of Prince William and Liberty streets and was forced to remove them all — usually for building code violations.

One of the previous signs, protesting the county’s anti-illegal immigration resolution, stood for seven months until the city took Fernandez to court and forced him to remove it.

Several fines were pending against Fernandez at the time, but city officials dropped them when he agreed to remove the 60-foot sign.

Fernandez on Wednesday said he did not have time to comment on the new sign or Garcia-Madina’s guilty plea.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.