In the summer of 2016, the life of 18-year-old Austin G. Baxley was tragically cut short in Yorktown, Virginia. A passerby discovered his body on the side of the desolate Crawford Road just after midnight on July 1st. Investigators found that the young man, a white male from Portsmouth, had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head and torso.
The York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office quickly launched a homicide investigation.
Their efforts led them to 20-year-old Julian Rios, also from Portsmouth. Cell phone data placed Rios on Crawford Road at the time the gunshots were heard by witnesses. Further investigation revealed a premeditated plot to end Baxley's life. Rios and a 27-year-old woman named Amina Lillian Washington had planned the murder for weeks. On the night of June 30, 2016, they drove Baxley from Portsmouth to the secluded road in York County.
Following his arrest, Julian Rios faced charges of murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. In March 2018, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement, he agreed to testify against his co-conspirator, Amina Washington. Rios was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison. He received a life sentence with all but 22 years suspended for the murder charge, and an additional three years for the firearm charge. Upon his release, he will be on supervised probation for the rest of his life.
Amina Lillian Washington also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and a firearm charge in September of that year. She was sentenced to 99 years in prison with 76 years suspended, resulting in 23 years to serve. Like Rios, she will face a lengthy period of probation, 99 years, upon her release. A third individual, Antionne Hinton, was also implicated for helping to dispose of the firearms used in the killing and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to homicide. The investigation suggested a possible motive involving a debt Baxley owed to Rios for a cell phone bill.
