Springfield Resident Sentenced for Murder of Local Man

David Alan Patton was sentenced Aug. 19 to 50 years in prison, with 10 years suspended sentence, for the Sept. 12, 2010, murder of Stephen A. Carr in his Burke home.

Fairfax County Circuit Judge R. Terrence Ney also sentenced Patton to 10 years in prison for the abduction of Carr’s girlfriend. That sentence will run concurrently with the murder sentence.

in June to first-degree murder and abduction.

Public defender Bob Frank said Patton was very remorseful at sentencing and apologized to Carr’s family and his own family, including his two daughters.

“It was a senseless tragedy all the way around and I think Mr. Patton would agree,” Frank told Burke Patch. “He thinks about it every day."

Frank said Patton, 45, will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence, or 34 years, before he is eligible for consideration for geriatric parole.

According to testimony at the time Patton entered his guilty plea, Patton was armed with a gun when he went to Carr’s house in the 6800 block of Field Master Drive.  Carr and his girlfriend, Rina Cabrera, were watching a football game. Patton tied them up with zip ties but when Carr began to struggle, Cabrera was able to run out of the house.  She reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot. Patton ran after her and brought her back into the house.

According to a synopsis presented by Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Ian Rodway, Carr’s roommate was across the street at the time of the shooting, and he ran home when he heard the commotion. Patton ran after him, giving Cabrera the opportunity to call 911. Police apprehended Patton in Carr's backyard.

Although initial reports suggested the murder stemmed from a dispute over a speed hump that Carr advocated for in front of his home, Patton’s attorney said there was no truth to that.

Frank said his client told him that he and Carr had a verbal altercation after a minor fender bender in June 2010, and that Carr took out an assault warrant even though nothing physical happened. That warrant was pending at the time of the murder.

Frank said Patton had served as a military police officer and was discharged honorably from the military, and also worked briefly as a sheriff’s deputy in Alexandria. Frank said that Patton was a long-distance trucker at the time of the shooting, and that he was depressed and drinking too much.

“He was in a bad state of mind, worried about money and away a lot,” Frank said.  Frank added that after his arrest, Patton was diagnosed with mental health issues.

Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Ian Rodway has since left the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, and the office declined comment on the case.

In addition, Burke Patch was unable to reach Rina Cabrera for comment.