A Fairfax County man charged in the rape of a woman in her Reston, Virginia, home Sunday night faced a judge twice just days before the alleged crime -- once for a probation violation and for an unrelated crime.
The victim was sleeping inside her apartment in the 2200 block of Lovedale Lane before midnight Sunday when a man armed with a knife sexually assaulted her, police said. He then took the woman’s phone and left.
Within hours police identified a suspect and arrested 22-year-old Anthony Agee of Reston.
The case came together when detectives took another look at evidence gathered in the same neighborhood June 9 when police investigated the report of a peeping Tom. A Ring camera recorded someone walking back and forth, but a handprint on a window led to the arrest of Agee, police said.
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The print was lifted and processed by police, then sent to the forensics fingerprint exam unit. It went unprocessed by the lab for several weeks until Monday when detectives suspected it may be linked to Sunday night’s rape.
Court records show Agee pleaded guilty in 2018 to armed burglary. He was sentenced in 2019 to 15 years in prison with all but three years suspended. After he was released from prison, Agee was placed on probation.
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Last year, Agee was convicted in three crimes, but in each case he was sentenced to 180 days with all of it suspended.
On Feb. 11, a judge held a probation revocation hearing where he found Agee in violation of probation, but Agee was not sent back to prison.
Twelve days later, Agee was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for an alleged shooting at the PaperMoon Gentlemen’s Club in Springfield, but the charges were dropped when prosecutors asked police for additional evidence.
On Aug. 12 a second probation violation hearing was held, and the judge again found Agee had violated probation, but he was not sent back to prison.
Just hours later, Agee was arrested on Ivystone Court in Reston. Fairfax County police said in the car Agee was riding in they found more than a pound of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was arrested and charged with felony possession with intent to distribute and posted a $2,000 bond and was back on the street.
A spokesperson for parole and probation said the court and Agee’s attorney were both notified of the new arrest on Aug. 18, three days before police say Agee raped a woman at knifepoint inside her Reston home, but Agee was allowed to remain free.
At a news conference Tuesday, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis called Agee a monster and a coward who was well known to police. He was asked why Agee was on the street.
“That’s the question that every player in the criminal justice system needs to continue to ask ourselves,” he said. “So, as we look back at him and his criminal history and the opportunities the criminal justice system may have had to interrupt his criminal behavior, that’s always something that should give us pause to contemplate being better.”
A court document filed after Agee was arrested for the rape says he confessed.
A spokesperson for the court said they have no comment.
