FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 11, 2017
Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176-2809
(703) 777-0242
DEFENDANT SENTENCED FOR 24TH FELONY CONVICTION
JUDGE IMPOSES EIGHT YEARS
LEESBURG, Virginia – May 8, 2017. Christopher Simmons, 37, appeared before Judge Douglas L. Fleming Jr. in Loudoun County Circuit Court to be sentenced on one count of grand larceny. Fleming sentenced Simmons to an active sentence of eight years in the Virginia Department of Corrections.
In March 2015, Simmons and an unknown co-defendant asked to use the bathroom at the victim’s home in Purcellville, Virginia. The elderly victim was acquainted with Simmons and allowed the two men to enter his home and use the bathroom. When the men exited the home, the victim noticed Simmons had a small safe in his arms. The victim quickly determined that his safe and wallet were missing and contacted law enforcement.
DNA evidence and fingerprints were recovered from the closet where the safe was removed from. Analysis by the Department of Forensic Science matched the samples taken from the victim’s closet with DNA data bank samples belonging to Simmons. The probability that the DNA belonged to someone other than Simmons was 1 in greater than 7.2 billion.
Simmons entered a plea of guilty to one count of grand larceny on August 19, 2016.
Fleming also imposed one year of post-release supervision and ordered Simmons to pay $2,200 in restitution to the victim.
Simmons has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1994, consisting of over twenty felony convictions to include: grand larceny, burglary, arson, receiving stolen property, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Additionally, Simmons has been convicted multiple times for violating the terms of his probation. While his prior convictions were from Augusta County, Spotsylvania County, and Staunton, this was his first Loudoun County appearance. Simmons has an upcoming jury trial in October in Augusta County for first-degree murder.
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