On a cold January evening in 2002, in what police would later describe as a drug-related assassination, 22-year-old Robert Irvin Morrison was shot and killed in a Dumfries, Virginia, apartment. The fatal attack, which also claimed the life of his 22-year-old roommate, Romanno Avellino Head, took place late on the night of January 2nd. A third man, also 22, was shot in the head during the same incident but miraculously survived and was able to call the police.
Investigators found the
three men in a second-floor apartment in the 3400 block of Allerton Court. Both Morrison and Head were pronounced dead at the scene. The surviving victim was rushed to the hospital for surgery. In the immediate aftermath, Prince William County police had no suspects and believed the slayings were connected to local drug sales. Sources suggested that investigators were exploring the possibility that the victims were set up to be robbed and killed as part of a drug deal.
The investigation eventually led to the arrests of two men, Joshua Wayne Andrews and his accomplice, Jamel Crawford. The man who survived the shooting, Rutherford Berry, became a key witness and testified against the pair during the subsequent trial. Prosecutors charged Andrews with capital murder for the shooting deaths of Robert Morrison and Romanno Head.
During the trial, Jamel Crawford, who was also facing serious charges, testified against Andrews as a key witness for the prosecution. In a plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Crawford in exchange for his testimony. The defense attorneys for Andrews questioned Crawford's credibility, arguing that his testimony was motivated by the favorable arrangement offered by the prosecution. Ultimately, Joshua Andrews was convicted of capital murder.
Following his conviction, a jury sentenced Joshua Wayne Andrews to death for the murders of Robert Morrison and Romanno Head. However, in a later appeal, the Supreme Court of Virginia overturned Andrews' death sentence, citing numerous legal issues with the original trial.
