EDA director’s trial delayed to October 31

FRONT ROYAL – Citing scheduling conflicts of her defense attorney, David Crump, Jennifer McDonald, Warren County-Front Royal Economic Development Authority’s executive director, will not appear in Warren County General District Court on June 27. She has been charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor by the Virginia State Police for knowingly giving a false report as to the commission of a crime to a law enforcement official with the intent to mislead, according to a criminal complaint filed in Warren County General District Court.

According to a clerk in the General District Court office on Friday, the trial will be held on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. The Honorable W. Dale Houff, Chief Judge, granted a continuance on Wednesday, June 20, based upon the fact that Mr. Crump will be out of town on the originally scheduled court date of Wednesday, June 27.

Charges were filed in Warren County Circuit Court on Wednesday, June 13, and McDonald was charged on Thursday, June 14. Virginia’s statute of limitations for misdemeanors is one year; the alleged false police report was made on June 15, 2017.

A criminal complaint by Special Agent E.D.Deel states that the events leading up to a warrant being issued for McDonald began during a Front Royal Police Department investigation of a reported May 18, 2017 break-in at the EDA’s Kendrick Lane office. During that investigation, the complaint states that an “interview was conducted” by Front Royal police on June 16, but it does not name the individual with whom the interview was conducted.

The complaint indicates McDonald revealed information to the unnamed person between 3-4 p.m. on June 15 about an incident at her 158 Faith Way home. She described the incident as a stone being thrown into her front door and a note being left behind that included phone numbers.

The complaint states that the information was important because McDonald, at approximately 9:02 p.m., called the Warren County 911 Center on June 15, about five hours after she described the event to the unknown person. During the 911 call, the complaint states that McDonald said “a loud noise happened” while she was in the basement. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and found that a large landscape stone was thrown into her front door. A note was also discovered in the yard with information “consistent with the statements” she made hours before the 911 call.

Royal Examiner reached out to Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian M. Madden, who will prosecute the case, but he was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.