YORK COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Federal investigators are now handling the cases of four of the five people accused in a murder crossing county lines which left 25-year-old Ty’osha Tanique Mitchell dead.
Around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, a jogger found Mitchell on the ground near the intersection of Old Williamsburg Road and Daniels Drive in York County. Officials say they found Michell — a mother of two children — with gunshot wounds and pronounced her dead.
In an update released by the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office days later, 8News learned Mitchell was abducted in Richmond and then brought to York County.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office shared another update regarding the fate of the suspects during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, just one day after their charges were dropped, or nolle prossed, by a York County General District Court judge. The charges included second-degree murder and conspiracy.
“Nolle pross is the Commonwealth’s decision [to] not pursue cases,” said Russ Stone, 8News legal analyst. “[The] important thing is that a nolle pross does not forever mean it is all over. The Commonwealth is allowed to bring the charges back.”
In this case, 8News has learned the federal government will be taking over the matter, since a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was found, as gang related activity is said to be involved in the case.
Sheriff Ron Montgomery told reporters that Donnisha Goodman and Acacia Jackson have been federally indicted on a charge of kidnapping resulting in death. Sheriff Montgomery added that Hezekiah Carney and Jayquan Jones are currently in federal custody awaiting charges.
Jamica Langley — the fifth suspect involved in the case — is headed back to Richmond to serve a sentence for a homicide she was convicted of in 2020.
“We reached out to the family this morning— talked [with] to the grandmother and to the mother, and they were both extremely relieved to know that nobody was getting out of jail, and that this was not going to be the end that they were going to be prosecuted federally,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery said that, if found guilty of the federal charges, four of the five accused can potentially face life in prison without parole.
