Woodbridge Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Murder and Robbery

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bernardo Eugene Ford, Jr., 26, of Woodbridge, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery and murder of a drug dealer in Falls Church.

A federal jury convicted Ford on March 9. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Feb. 23, 2016, Ford and a co-conspirator went to the victim’s apartment in Falls Church, intending to rob the victim of his drugs and drug proceeds. When the drug dealer resisted, Ford and his co-conspirator hit him in the head with a firearm, and then shot him, first in the arm and then in the back as he attempted to flee, severing his spine. Ford and his co-conspirator then fled, taking with them one of the victim’s iPhones.

Telephone records introduced by the prosecution showed Ford’s and the victim’s phones contacting the same cell phone tower minutes after the murder and approximately two miles away from the victim’s apartment. Ford’s Facebook records contained communications in which he discussed with two different persons his intention to rob drug dealers. Cartridge casings and bullets recovered from the apartment were fired from two different semi-automatic handguns, leading to the conclusion that two persons were involved in committing the crime.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Rich and Carina A. Cuellar are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-149.