Arlington Deputy Indicted on Murder, Gun Charges in Alexandria Shooting

By Drew Hansen

An Alexandria grand jury returned an indictment Monday charging Arlington County sheriff’s deputy Craig Patterson with one count of murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of murder in the May shooting of Alexandria resident Julian Dawkins.

A trial date has not been set.

The maximum penalty for the murder charge is life in prison, while the firearm charge carries a mandatory three-year sentence, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter. 

During a court hearing last week, a recording of Patterson’s 911 call from the night of the shooting was played for the first time.

“I had a young man pull a knife on me and I shot him,” Patterson said in the call to a dispatcher, according to the Washington Post.

Dawkins, 22, was shot in the chest early in the morning of May 22 in Alexandria’s Lynhaven neighborhood. The T.C. Williams alum and shuttle driver for “PBS Newshour” was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Patterson was arrested and charged with murder in the incident on May 29 in Spotsylvania County.

During initial court proceedings on May 30, Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Sengel said witnesses heard Patterson and Dawkins arguing. Witnesses then saw Patterson, who was off-duty at the time, walk away from the argument, Sengel said, then return with his badge, gun and handcuffs.

Witnesses reported hearing one gunshot, Sengel said. Dawkins was found shot in the chest.

A witness for the defense testifying last week said Dawkins chased Patterson down the street before Patterson returned with his gun, according to the Washington Post. Patterson may have seen Dawkins with a knife and felt the young man was a “danger,” Patterson’s defense attorney said, according to the Post report.

The attorney also said Dawkins had a blood alcohol level of 0.15.

Examiners found a knife folded closed in Dawkins’ pocket. Sengel said in May that medical analysis determined Dawkins would not have been able to fold the knife and place it in his pocket after he was shot.

Patterson’s defense attorneys suggested he shot Dawkins in self-defense at a bond hearing in July. The 44-year-old deputy, who has been placed on unpaid leave, has been denied bond twice. 

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