Defendant gets court date for more than two years after Frederick County incident

By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — More than two years will pass after a home invasion and sexual assault in Stephens City before a Chesterfield man will stand trial in January on charges related to the incident.

Anthony Lee Skinner, 33, of 15125 Fernway Drive, appeared Thursday in Frederick County Circuit Court with his attorney, William Crane.

Skinner is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery, abduction with the intent to defile, object penetration, forcible sodomy, and attempted rape, two counts of robbery, two counts of abduction and six related firearms offenses.

Authorities accused Skinner of plotting with four co-defendants the Dec. 18, 2006, armed robbery of a residence on Hackberry Drive in the town. Skinner abducted two adults and a juvenile inside the home, committed sex offenses against a woman at the residence and fled the scene with firearms and other items, according to authorities.

Grand juries indicted the other four suspects on the same 15 offenses.

Skinner entered a plea agreement earlier this year reached between the state and his previous attorney, Peter Hansen, in which he pleaded guilty to eight charges in exchange for the court dismissing the remaining seven counts.

But at his sentencing hearing May 9, Skinner told Judge John Prosser that he wanted to withdraw his guilty pleas and no longer wanted to accept the agreement. Commonwealth's Attorney Glenn Williamson said prosecutors wanted to rescind the agreement because Skinner had failed to cooperate with a condition that called for him to testify against the co-defendants.

On Thursday, Crane told the judge that Hansen had not yet provided him with documents or items given by the commonwealth attorney's office during discovery.

Prosser ordered that Hansen give Crane the necessary files in Skinner's case within 14 days. "It seems to me [Skinner] is not well-served by this failure to communicate," Prosser said.

Then, while a trial date was discussed, Skinner waived his right to a jury and said he wished to have his case heard by the judge. But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ross Spicer told Prosser that prosecutors were unwilling to waive a jury in the case. Earlier, when Skinner sought a trial, he waived his right to a jury and the prosecutor did not object.

Having once agreed to a bench trial, could prosecutors change their minds and have it heard by a jury, the judge posed.

"I think the answer to that is unequivocally yes," Spicer said.

The judge gave Crane three weeks to file any case law information regarding whether a trial previously set to be heard by a judge can be reset for a jury.

Prosser set the matter for a jury trial on Jan. 22.

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com