FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 14, 2014
Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176-2809
(703) 777-0242
LEESBURG MAN SENTENCED FOR MALICIOUS WOUNDING
JUDGE IMPOSES FOUR YEAR PRISON SENTENCE
LEESBURG, Virginia – April 11, 2014. Zama Silindane, 21, appeared before Judge Stephen E. Sincavage in Loudoun County Circuit Court for sentencing on one count of malicious wounding. Sincavage imposed an active sentence of four years in the Virginia Department of Corrections.
On December 7, 2013, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an altercation between two groups of males at a McDonald’s restaurant in Sterling. The incident began as a verbal altercation between several of the men, during which Silindane exited the McDonalds, retrieved a glass bottle from his vehicle, re-entered the restaurant and struck another male in the face, causing the bottle to shatter. When questioned by law enforcement, Silindane stated that he was “kinda tipsy” and that he had “cracked the victim in the head” with a bottle. The victim’s injuries required surgery and he suffers recurring breathing and nasal issues as a result of the incident.
Prior to imposing a sentence, Sincavage acknowledged Silindane’s lack of criminal history, but noted that Silindane had “a moment of reflection and elected to come back and escalate the situation with an innocent victim rather than call the police or try and break up the altercation.” Sincavage cited this as the reason for imposing the high end of the sentencing guidelines.
In addition to the total active sentence of four years, Sincavage imposed an additional four years of suspended time. Upon his release from prison, Silindane will be placed on supervised probation for a period of 4 years. Should he violate the terms of his supervised probation a portion of or any balance of the suspended time may be imposed by the Court. Additionally, Silindane was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,451.50 to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund for payments made to the victim for medical expenses he has incurred as a result of his injuries.
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