Justin Wolfe death sentence overturned

A federal judge on Tuesday vacated the death sentence of Justin Wolfe, convicted of capital murder in the 2002 slaying of Daniel Petrole Jr., in Bristow.

Judge Raymond A. Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Norfolk on Tuesday said Wolfe was “denied the right to due process pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment...” during his trial, and therefore vacated the original murder conviction and death sentence.

Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert said he expects the state attorney general's office to appeal the decision.

Even with this decision, it is likely that Wolfe will serve the rest of his more than 30-year sentence for drug and gun convictions.

The 29-year-old was convicted of hiring Owen Barber IV to kill Petrole, Wolfe’s marijuana supplier, exposing a high-end marijuana distribution ring in the wealthy suburbs of Northern Virginia.

Barber, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, testified as the key witness against Wolfe, who has maintained his innocence. Barber later recanted that testimony in an affidavit stating that Wolfe did not hire him for the shooting.

Weeks later, Barber again changed his story, recanting the affidavit.

The defense attorneys also claimed that Prince William County prosecutors withheld evidence that Barber’s story changed during the investigation and that interviews with him and others had been taped.

“These folks that represent these people, they come up with just about anything they can to throw in the fire to see how it flies,” Ebert said last November when the appeal was made.

The court, however, agreed on Tuesday with the defense, stating that Wolfe was not “apprised of all material, exculpatory information within the hands of the prosecution” and that “the Commonwealth’s use of Barber’s false testimony is also grounds for habeas relief.”

According to police, on March 5, 2001, Petrole pulled up to his townhouse in Bristow, after returning from a meeting where he had given Wolfe between 10 and 15 pounds of a high-grade marijuana called chronic.

When Petrole parked in front of his home, Barber, a friend of Wolfe’s, pulled up nearby, pulled out a 9 mm handgun and fired 10 rounds into Petrole's Honda Civic.

"Worst case scenario, we'll just try him again," Ebert said. "What sticks in people's craw about this case is these players seem like non-typical criminals. But they are certainly as dangerous as any street criminal in my opinion."

Calls to Wolfe’s defense attorneys were not immediately returned Tuesday.

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Staff writer Joe Conroy can be reached at 703-530-3912. Staff writer Amanda Stewart contributed to this story.