Fairfax Prosecutor Under Fire After Mental Patient Accused of Murder Obtained Passport and Fled U.S.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano faces renewed scrutiny after Abdulloi Doniyor Toshpulodzoda, a Tajik national found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2023 killing of landlord Mohammad Hemmatian, received authorization to travel to Washington and obtain a passport before departing the United States. Toshpulodzoda was residing at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church under county supervision when he received the “community pass” in May 2024 to make an escorted trip to obtain documentation from the Tajik embassy.

In July 2024, Toshpulodzoda received a second community pass to stay in an apartment provided through a Fairfax County housing program. He subsequently traveled to Dulles International Airport, boarded a flight through Turkey, and arrived in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, according to Department of Homeland Security records. A removal order had been placed on Toshpulodzoda following an immigration judge’s June 24, 2024 decision, and his departure satisfied the final compliance requirement of that order.

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized Descano’s handling of the case, stating that judicial authority had been circumvented. “A judge said no, Virginia authorities said yes anyway,” Miyares said, characterizing the authorization of passport travel as a critical failure in prosecutorial judgment and public safety oversight.

Descano’s office maintained that prosecutors opposed Toshpulodzoda’s release at annual court hearings and that the May 2024 escorted visit was requested jointly by the Commonwealth’s prosecutor Claiborne Richardson and the defendant’s attorney Amy Jordan. Court documents confirm a judge approved the travel in May, though prosecutors argued in a subsequent June hearing that Toshpulodzoda should remain institutionalized.

Toshpulodzoda entered the United States during the Obama administration and later violated the terms of his admission, according to DHS. He admitted to killing Hemmatian but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and institutionalized rather than prosecuted for the offense. Virginia authorities have issued an arrest warrant should he return to American soil.

Conservative critics have highlighted Descano’s record on cases involving foreign nationals and illegal immigrants, noting his prior opposition to immigration enforcement cooperation. Billionaire George Soros contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Descano’s campaigns in the heavily Democratic Beltway jurisdiction, fueling ongoing debate over prosecutorial discretion and public safety policy.