Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a probe of Fairfax County, Virginia, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano's office and its policies concerning plea bargains, charging decisions, and sentencing.
Descano responded to the probe on X, writing, "My policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community."
Today, I received notice of a Department of Justice investigation into my office regarding one of our policies. My policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community.
— Fairfax DA Steve Descano (@FairfaxCountyCA) May 6, 2026
Really? That's the best Descano can come up with? He doesn't sound too confident. And he shouldn't. We've covered Descano frequently, and there's a pattern. Here are just some of the cases his office has dropped the ball on, with dangerous and deadly consequences:
Abdul Jalloh
Fairfax County Police warned Descano's office multiple times that Jalloh was violent and dangerous, including in November of last year. Despite Jalloh's "numerous dealings" with police and his history of crime, Descano's office repeatedly dropped charges against Jalloh and released him back into the community. Just three months after that November warning from Fairfax Police, Jalloh stabbed and killed mom Stephanie Minter at a Fairfax bus stop.
Marvin Morales Ortez
In 2021, Ortez — an illegal alien from El Salvador — was hit with a first-degree murder charge. Despite the crime, Descano's office entered a nolle prosequi and declined to prosecute Ortez for the murder. In fact, Descano's office refused to charge Ortez for multiple crimes dating back to 2020. On December 16, Descano's office once again dropped all charges against Ortez, this time those charges were related to attempted murder and gun crimes, and released Ortez. The next day, Ortez killed a man.
Denis Humberto Navarette-Romero
Navarette-Romero, another illegal alien, was arrested in November 2024 after he raped a woman on a popular running trail. In 2022, Navarette-Romero was charged with felony assault of an officer after he attacked a police officer who responded to a groping incident. Descano's office downgraded the charges to simple assault, a misdemeanor.
Wilmer Osmany Ramos Giron
An illegal alien from Guatemala, Giron was charged with multiple felonies, including abduction by force, felony strangulation, and misdemeanor assault on a family member. He would have faced 15 years in prison, but Descano's office dropped the felony charge in exchange for a misdemeanor charge of "brandishing a machete/blade." Because of this, Giron only served about two months behind bars.
When asked about the plea deal, Laura Birnbaum, the Deputy Chief of Staff and Public Information Officer for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said, "The resolution in this case was based primarily on the victim's wishes."She expressed that she wanted the defendant to face accountability, have jail time, and not contact her again (outside of communication regarding their child in common); but that she wanted to minimize the impact on his record and avoid a felony conviction.”
The victim in the case said that was not true. Instead, she told ABC7 News she was told Giron would serve those 15 years, and that "she agreed with that because she feared for her safety" and that she told Descano's office Giron was harassing her and that she feared he would do something again. The victim said Giron "got off easy."
Maldin Anibal Guzman and Wis Alonso Sorto-Portillo
These two illegal aliens also got lenient plea deals from Descano's office. The two were admitted to stabbing Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez to death in a park in 2024. They faced a 25-year sentence. Descano's office, through a plea deal, gave the pair five years with time served. They will be released in 2029, if not sooner. Descano's office told the media, "The plea agreement was the only way to ensure that the defendants were incarcerated for this brutal murder. Since the victim’s body was found in a creek the next morning, there was no DNA or any physical evidence at the scene. All witnesses in this case were terrified to come forward or assist with prosecution."
That ignores the fact Guzman and Sorto-Portillo admitted to the crime. ICE also had multiple immigration detainers against Guzman, and the Fairfax County Sheriff's office refused to honor them. Both Guzman and Sorto-Portillo had criminal records before the 2024 murder.
Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez
An illegal alien from Honduras, Baquedano-Rodriguez, was arrested after he attempted to abduct a four-year-old child with the intent to defile and commit burglary. He was convicted of numerous crimes before that incident, including a 2021 arrest in which he exposed himself to a child. Descano's office dropped the case against him entirely.
Are those the "values" of Descano's community? There's a pattern here: Descano's office routinely downgrades or drops charges against illegal aliens who commit heinous crimes, including crimes against women and children. They refuse to honor ICE detainers and they refuse to prosecute criminals to the fullest extent of the law. People have gotten hurt and killed because of it.
And the DOJ is right to investigate and put an end to this nonsense.