WASHINGTON — A Woodbridge man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery and murder of a drug dealer in Falls Church last year.
In March, 26-year-old was Bernardo Ford, Jr. convicted on charges of conspiracy, armed robbery of a drug dealer and using firearms in committing a robbery.
In February 2016, Ford, and another person went to the Falls Church apartment of a drug dealer with the intention to rob him, according to court records and evidence presented at trial. When the drug dealer resisted the robbing, Ford and the other person hit him in the head with a gun and then shot the drug dealer twice, killing him, court documents say.
Ford and the other person fled, taking the victim’s cellphone with them, according to court documents. The left behind approximately $2,400 in cash hidden in the drug dealer’s closet, according to evidence presented in court.
Phone records showed Ford’s cellphone and the victim’s cellphone contacting the same cellphone tower minutes after the murder, according to court documents.
Also, Ford’s Facebook records shower he spoke with two different people about his intention to rob drug dealers, according to the documents.
District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee sentenced Ford Friday.
