Murder charges dropped against Manassas man

By Amanda Stewart

Published: May 2, 2008

One of three men arrested and charged in connection with a March 2006 murder in a Manassas-area apartment complex is no longer facing murder charges.

Edward Louis Hogan, 23, of 8665 Bruton Parish Court, Apt. 304, in Manassas, was

originally charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the March 15, 2006, shooting death of 24-year-old Rodolfo Reyes-Hernandez.

Hogan was arrested in February on those charges, but investigators later decided he was not involved in the murder, Commonwealth's

Attorney Paul Ebert said Friday.

Prosecutors dropped the firearm charge and changed the murder charge to a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to police.

"During the investigation it was determined that Hogan was not involved in the murder," Ebert said. "However he did provide false information to police while they were investigating the mur-der."

During a brief appearance in Prince William General District Court Friday, Hogan pleaded no contest to making a false report to

police.

Hogan was sentenced to 12 months in jail, with 10 months suspended. He will get credit for the time he served after being arrested on Feb. 27.

Two other men were charged in connection with Reyes-Hernandez's murder.

Jarrell Antone Scott, 22, of no fixed address, was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the com-mission of a felony and was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Friday. His hearing was contin-ued to August 25.

Freddie Deangelo Wigenton, 18, of the Manassas area, was also charged with first-degree mur-der and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. Wigenton, who was 16 years old at the time of the murder, had a hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and was certified to stand trial as an adult on the charges, accord-ing to court records.

His charges will go before a grand jury in Prince William Circuit Court on Monday.

According to court documents, Reyes-Hernandez's murder was the result of a drug deal gone bad.

Around 1 p.m. on March 15, 2006 Reyes-Hernandez went to the stairwell in an apartment building at 7662 Cass Place in the Manassas area to buy crack cocaine, the court documents state.

There the men sold him powdered drywall instead of cocaine. When Reyes-Hernandez noticed that the drugs were fake, he grabbed the arm of one of the men and asked for his money back, according to a criminal complaint on file in Prince William General District Court.

Reyes-Hernandez was shot and killed in the struggle that followed, police said.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at or 703-878-8014.