Maryland Man Indicted in Centreville Killing
Police were looking for a white Toyota-type pickup earlier this year
A 22-year-old Maryland man has been indicted for the 2010 killing of a Manassas Park handyman who was shot as he tried to defend the Centreville family he worked for.
Reynard L. Prather of Oxon Hill was indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria in the home-invasion robbery that ended with the death of Jose Ramiro Rosales Cardona, 39, hailed as a “guardian angel” by the family he died trying to protect.
Prather was indicted of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, use of a firearm in a crime of violence, use of a firearm in a crime of violence causing death, and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. If convicted, Prather faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or death.
Prosecutors say Prather and at least one other man broke into the garage of the Brar family’s home in Centreville, thinking the family kept large sums of cash there. The Brars operated a check-cashing business in Manassas.
Fairfax Police said that Cardona returned from an errand the morning of May 17, 2010, to find two armed men hiding in the family’s garage. He alerted the family and Cardona was shot in the head in an ensuing struggle.
Court records allege that Prather was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and entered the target’s garage with his partner – who was also armed with a semi-automatic pistol – to await the target’s arrival.
