FOOTBALL: Tyquan Brown’s monster night helped Freedom stay hot on Homecoming. Sports, Page 13
October 3, 2018 | Serving Prince William County | Vol. 17, No. 40 | www.PrinceWilliamTimes.com | 50¢
Jury: Hamilton guilty of capital murder Army staff sergeant faces execution or life in prison By Amanda Heincer Times Staff Writer
A Woodbridge man faces execution or life in prison after a jury convicted him of capital murder. After deliberating for less than eight hours Wednesday, Sept. 26, a jury found 34-year-old Ronald Williams Hamilton guilty of 17
felonies, including three counts of capital murder, in connection with the February 27, 2016, shooting deaths of his wife, Crystal Sheree Ronald Williams Hamilton, 29, and Hamilton Prince William County Police Officer Ashley Guindon, 28. One by one, each of the 10 women and two men on the jury answered “yes” when asked if their verdict
was unanimous. Hamilton, an Army staff sergeant who wore his service uniform to court on each day of the first phase of his trial, stared straight ahead and did not appear to react as the verdict was read. Jurors returned to Prince William Circuit Court this week for the start of the sentencing phase of Hamilton’s trial. On Monday, Judge Steven Smith granted defense attorneys’ motion to separate the sentencing phase into to two parts, meaning jurors will first
decide whether Hamilton should face the death penalty or life in prison for capital murder. After that, a second sentencing phase for the remaining charges will begin. The capital murder sentencing phase is expected to last at least two weeks, during which jurors will likely hear testimony from the victims’ family members, the two Prince William County police officers who survived the shooting, Hamilton’s family members and others who know him. See HAMILTON, Page 3
Funding, or lack thereof, a key topic in school board chair debate By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY MIKE BEATY
Interim Prince William County School Board Chairman Dr. Babur Lateef and Gainesville District School Board Member Alyson Satterwhite answer questions during a Sept. 27 debate sponsored by the Committee of 100. INSIDE Classified............................................20 Calendar.............................................17 PWC Libraries.....................................16 News....................................................2
86 WARRENTON, VA
appletoncampbell.com
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Funding – and whether local schools have enough of it – was a key topic in the first debate between two candidates on the ballot in the Nov. 6 special election for chairman of the Prince William County School Board. Interim School Board Chairman Dr. Babur Lateef and Gainesville District School Board Representative Alyson Satterwhite, who announced her candidacy for chair in March, met for a 90-minute forum Thursday, Sept. 27, sponsored by the Prince William Committee of 100. The two are officially running as independents, as required by Virginia law, but have received endorsements from their respective political parties. Lateef, 46, has been endorsed by the Prince William Democratic Committee, while Satterwhite, 52, was endorsed by the Prince William County Republican Committee in September. They will be joined on the ballot by a third candidate, Stanley Bender, who did not attend the Sept. 27 debate. See SCHOOL BOARD, Page 3
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