A Prince William County judge reversed his decision to set $5,000 bond for a man charged with murder in a crash that killed his girlfriend and her 5-year-old daughter.
The prosecution returned to court Friday armed with new evidence to persuade the judge to revoke the bond he set last week.
Silent dashboard camera video shows the look of fear on Dorothy Fontaine’s face seconds before the crash prosecutors say her boyfriend, Mustafa Aljazairi, caused intentionally, with Fontaine’s daughter, Empress, in the back seat.
The prosecutor told the judge Friday a lip reader analyzed the video and determined Fontaine said, “No! Empress is in the car,” as the vehicle veered left and into oncoming traffic. That’s one piece of evidence the prosecution presented to try to convince the judge Aljazairi is too dangerous to be given bond, arguing, “This is no different than a situation where you have someone shooting and killing two people … He used his vehicle as a weapon on April 5, 2023, that resulted in the murder of two individuals.”
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Defense attorney Blake Weiner contends his client was trying to pass a car, ran out of room at an intersection and panicked. He rejects the suggestion the video or the crash victim’s words show Aljazairi would be dangerous if freed on bond.
“It states nothing about whether or not the deceased thought my client was doing it intentionally,” Weiner said. “It states that as she sees oncoming danger, her first thought is, Oh no, my daughter is in the car.”
Prosecutors also called the crash scene investigator to testify in support of their theory the crash was intentional.
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Sgt. Chad Mason said there were no skid marks at the scene, only evidence of light braking. The heavy damage was on the passenger side, Mason said.
But Aljazairi’s attorney said that evidence actually supports his case.
“I believe the testimony of the witness supports directly our theory, which is that he was trying to maintain control, which is what you’d want to try to do if you were in a desperate, dangerous situation with your vehicle,” Weiner said.
The evidence that seems to have most influenced the judge came when the prosecutor reported Aljazairi had threatened a jail guard, telling them he knew her address and would find her when he got out.
Aljazairi’s family, which has been keeping vigil outside the jail, was disappointed with the judge’s ruling and questioned allegations of a jail threat.
“It doesn’t make sense that Mustafa would make a threat,” said his brother, Mohammed Aljazairi. “He’s gonna say, I’m gonna be found innocent, only to come out and commit another crime? That just doesn’t make any sense.”
Aljazairi’s attorney is deciding whether to appeal.
The trial is set for early December.
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