Virginia man charged with murder in June double shooting

Five months after two men were found shot to death in the woods in Woodbridge, Virginia, a Fauquier County man has been charged with murder.

Prince William County police said 22-year-old Abner Jose Molina-Rodriguez, of Catlett, Virginia, was arrested last Friday and has been charged with two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of 40-year-old Milton Beltran Lopez and 39-year-old Jairo Geremeas Mayorga.

Molina-Rodriguez is also charged with two counts of using a firearm to commit a felony.

The two men’s bodies were found in a wooded area in the Featherstone area of Woodbridge on June 22. Both men had last been seen alive the night before.

The case went unsolved for several months. At one point, the FBI stepped in to help with the investigation, and the reward for information leading to an arrest was increased to $20,000.

Police now say they believe Molina-Rodriguez met up with Lopez in the wooded area behind a nearby business. At the time, Mayorga was with Lopez. At some point, an altercation occurred and then Molina-Rodriguez shot the two men, police said.

Molina-Rodriguez had been arrested in Fauquier County in connection with a separate investigation, but police said they linked him to the double shooting in Woodbridge.

He is being held without bond, and is next due in court Jan. 27.

Jack Moore

Jack Moore joined WTOP.com as a digital writer/editor in July 2016. Previous to his current role, he covered federal government management and technology as the news editor at Nextgov.com, part of Government Executive Media Group.

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