Justin Wingate Poe, 35, of Woodbridge, Va. was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 10, in the Arlington County Circuit Court to 58 years in prison for his role in multiple attacks in Arlington County. Judge DiMatteo imposed a sentence of 50 years for the charge of rape and 20 years, with all but 15 years suspended, for the charge of burglary related to a 2016 sexual assault. These sentences will run concurrently. Additionally, Wingate Poe was charged with two counts of attempted abduction for incidents occurring in 2007. On each charge, Wingate Poe was sentenced to five years with one year suspended.
Theophani K. Stamos, Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney and M. Jay Farr, Arlington County’s Chief of Police made the announcement following the court appearance.
At approximately 4:56 a.m. on May 15, 2016 a female victim awoke in her residence in the 700 block of N. Edgewood Street to an unknown male sexually assaulting her. Following the attack, the male suspect fled the scene and the victim was able to contact 911. DNA evidence recovered from this assault was submitted to the state lab for analysis. The DNA results linked this case with an unsolved 2007 attempted abduction.
At approximately 2:27 a.m. on May 28, 2007 a female victim was walking in the 1100 block of N. Vernon Street when an unknown male suspect confronted her from behind and attempted to cover her face with a plastic bag. The victim screamed and the suspect fled the area on foot. An additional attack occurred on June 7, 2007 at approximately 1:20 a.m. when a female victim inside her residence in the 2600 block of Lee Highway heard a knock on her door. When she opened the door, an unknown male subject attempted to place a plastic bag over the victim’s head. The victim screamed and the suspect fled the scene on foot.
Upon receiving the link between the 2007 and 2016 cases, Arlington County Police Department detectives began an investigation including the review of cold case files, crime scene evidence and laboratory results. The review resulted in additional information that led detectives to identify Wingate Poe as a suspect. Wingate Poe was arrested and charged in June 2016.