A man has been indicted for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of a handyman at a Centreville mansion in May 2010. Court documents say Tasheik Champean conspired with Reynard Prather and another man to rob the home of the owner of a check-cashing business because they believed he kept his earnings there.
But when Champean and Prather tried to rob the owner’s mansion on the 14200 block of Compton Road on May 17, 2010, they encountered 39-year-old Jose Cardona, a handyman, at the home.
A struggle involving Champean, Prather, Cardona and the business owner’s son ensued, and Cardona was fatally shot in the head, according to court documents. Champean and Prather then fled.
Champean was indicted in federal court in Alexandria on charges of conspiracy, using a firearm in a crime of violence causing death and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. No attorney was listed for him in court records.
Prather was indicted in the case in November and pleaded guilty in February. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, and prosecutors are requesting a 30-year prison term.
The indictment against Champean alleges that he and another man planned the robbery. That man drove Champean and Prather to the Compton Road house from Prince George’s County, the indictment says.
Champean and Prather entered the home through an open garage door to wait for the owner to return, but the intruders were spotted by Cardona and the owner’s son. The son identified Champean as one of the suspects in a photo lineup, court documents say.
Witnesses told police that the two intruders fled into a white pickup truck parked near the residence. A man alleged to have been the getaway driver was charged with lying to a grand jury about his role in the killing, but the case was later dismissed.
Champean, who also goes by the names Ashanti Champean and Douglas A. Howell, was featured as a “most wanted” fugitive in The Washington Examiner in April 2010, when he had been on the lam for more than a year after missing a court hearing in D.C. on firearms charges.
Court records say he was apprehended in that case in November 2010, and pleaded guilty earlier this month.
