SPLASHING TO THE LEAD: Piedmont remains undefeated in the Prince William Swim League. Page 7
July 10, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 28 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Former church leader sentenced on 2nd abuse conviction By Amanda Heincer Times Staff Writer
Workers became concerned on Sunday night that if more earth gave way, the utility conduits might break. “We have a very strong focus on maintaining the utilities for the community,” she said. The timeline for fixing the road will depend on what is required to fix the storm drain, which failed amid the Independence Day thunderstorms.
A former youth leader at a Northern Virginia megachurch was sentenced Monday to serve three years in prison for charges stemming from an inappropriate encounter with a 16-year-old girl at the church in 2014. Jordan David Baird, 28, of Warrenton, pleaded guilty in Prince William Circuit Court in February to two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. At the end of an emotional sentencing hearing that lasted more than four hours Monday, July 8, Judge John E. Wetsel Jr. sentenced Baird to six years but suspended three years of the sentence, leaving him three years to serve. Baird was a youth leader at The Life Church, which has campuses in Manassas, Warrenton and Winchester, and was a music teacher at the affiliated Life Music Academy, according to court documents. This was the second sentencing for Baird, who was convicted in 2018 of five counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor and one count of electronic solicitation of a minor for sexual activities and suggestive electronic messages he sent another teen girl in 2015. He served five months in jail for that conviction. Monday’s sentencing hearing focused on allegations that Baird had inappropriate contact with a girl during a music lesson at the church in 2014, when she was 16 and he was 23. Prosecutors said that during the lesson Baird was alone with the girl and kissed her before asking her to perform sex acts on him; she refused. During the hearing, the victim, her mother, her father and her sister testified about the impact the incident had on her and her family. The Prince William Times does not typically identify victims of sexual assault. The victim’s mother said that before her daughter was involved with Baird, she was a happy young teen who excelled in academics, sports and singing. But after the incident, her mother said, she “spiraled out of control.”
See VDOT, page 4
See CONVICTION, page 4
TIMES STAFF PHOTOS/JILL PALERMO
Crews work to stabilize utility lines that cross the 25-foot sinkhole that collapsed Princedale Drive in Dale City on the Fourth of July. The Virginia Department of Transportation is overseeing repairs, but they likely could take four weeks or longer to complete.
VDOT: Dale City sinkhole fix could take 4 weeks By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Work crews have been closely monitoring a massive sinkhole in Dale City almost continuously since the asphalt split open in the early evening hours on Thursday, July 4, swallowing up an empty minivan. No one was injured when the sinkhole formed at about 6 p.m. that night. Area residents reported hearing a loud crash – similar to the sound of automobile accident – as the ground gave way, said Romeo Orellana, who lives one house away from where the sinkhole formed near Princedale Drive and Saddler Lane. Orellana said his daughters were home and ran into the street to see what happened. When they discovered the road was starting to cave in, they tried to warn passing motorists. They weren’t entirely successful – some cars ignored their warnings – but none were impacted except the minivan. It was parked on the north side of the road
where the sinkhole initially formed. In just a few hours, the hole had stretched the entire width of the roadway, and the minivan was completely submerged. “It was kind of scary,” Orellana said Monday morning. “I’ve lived here since 2003 and we have never seen something like that.” Waggy’s Towing Service freed the submerged Dodge Caravan from the sinkhole’s muddy trap on Friday, July 5. But fixing the now 25-foot hole could take up to four weeks or longer, according to Ellen Kamilakis, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. VDOT is heading up the effort to fix the sinkhole. Crews have been focused initially on stabilizing the water and gas lines that traverse the gap. On Sunday night, workers installed a steel beam to stabilize pipes carrying those critical utilities to surrounding homes. The work was not finished until about 4 a.m. Monday morning, Kamilakis said.
INSIDE Calendar.............................................10 Classified............................................13 Lifestyle................................................9
VDOT says the July 4 storm dislodged a drainage pipe under Princedale Drive.
Obituaries...........................................12 Opinion.................................................5 Real Estate..........................................11 Sports...................................................7
86 WARRENTON, VA