Armed Barricade Ends in Tragedy After Hours-Long Standoff in Front Royal - Royal Examiner (2024)

A tense standoff that began as a domestic disturbance call ended in tragedy in Front Royal late on August 12, 2024, after a male suspect, George Edward Mulligan Jr., was found dead inside a residence on West 8th Street.

Shortly after 11:00 p.m., officers from the Front Royal Police Department were dispatched to the 200 block of West 8th Street following reports of a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, they encountered a female in the front yard. As the officers attempted to make contact with her, shots were fired in their direction from inside the home. The suspect, later identified as Mulligan, was armed with a handgun and fired multiple rounds through a front window.

The officers immediately sought cover and were able to move the woman to safety without returning fire. A perimeter was quickly established around the residence, and backup was requested from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. Fire and rescue teams were also put on standby. Fortunately, no one was injured during the initial exchange.

Initial interviews with the woman revealed that two young children were still inside the home with the armed suspect. This escalated the situation to an armed barricade, leading to additional support from several law enforcement agencies, including the Virginia State Police, Winchester Police Department, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office. Despite repeated attempts, officers were unable to establish contact with Mulligan or the children.

After hours of failed negotiations, officers made the difficult decision to enter the home through the rear. They safely removed the two children, who were unharmed. However, attempts to communicate with Mulligan remained unsuccessful. Gas canisters were deployed into the residence in an effort to coax the suspect out, but there was still no response.

In a final effort to resolve the situation, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deployed a drone inside the home. The drone revealed that Mulligan was deceased. At approximately 3:00 a.m., officers entered the residence and confirmed that Mulligan had died from what is being investigated as a self-inflicted injury.

While the resolution was tragic, law enforcement officers expressed relief that no one else was harmed during the incident. The Front Royal Police Department thanked all the agencies involved for their crucial assistance and resources, which were instrumental in ensuring the safety of the children.

As this is an ongoing investigation, further details have not been released. Authorities continue to piece together the events leading up to the standoff, seeking to understand what may have driven Mulligan to such desperate actions.

A Virginia man is being prosecuted in federal court after he allegedly made a series of online posts threatening to kill or harm Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia announced Monday.

Frank Carillo, a 66-year-old from Winchester, was arrested last week at his home after authorities said they traced a series of posts on the conservative-leaning social media site Gettr back to him.

Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, was mentioned 19 times in the posts allegedly written by Carillo under the username “joemadarats1.”

“Harris is going to regret ever trying to become president because if that ever happened I will personally pluck out her eyes with a pair of pliers but first I will shoot and kill everyone that gets in my way that is a f****** promise,” read one of thousands of posts from the account that targeted public officials.

Another post said “I HAVE MY AR-15 LOCKED AND LOADED.” Authorities said they seized an AR-15 rifle, a pistol and “thousands of rounds of ammunition” from Carillo’s home during a search carried out Aug. 2.

Carillo told federal authorities he had purchased the rifle in February. He also indicated during the search that he was the one who had made the online comments that had drawn the attention of the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to federal court documents.

Federal law makes it a crime to threaten the president or anyone in the line of succession to the presidency. The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in,” Western District U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in a news release announcing the case.

Threats of violence against political figures have been a heightened concern this summer following the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, who is now competing against Harris after President Joe Biden abandoned his bid for a second presidential term.

Several of the alarming posts from the Gettr account linked to Carillo were made on July 27, almost one week after Biden dropped out of the race.

Carillo made an initial court appearance Monday and remains in federal custody, court documents show. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday.

Efforts to reach Carillo’s court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful Monday.

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

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Sources close to the situation report having been told that former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer Rae McDonald has received target dates to report to federal authorities to begin serving the 14-year prison sentence she received on May 29 following her upheld jury convictions on 30 of 34 criminal indictements related the EDA “financial scandal”. McDonald was cited as a central figure in the unauthorized movement of millions of dollars of EDA assets to her own personal benefit, as much as $6.5 million it was said at trial, or the benefit of others. Including the $12 million received by Truc “Curt” Tran’s ITFederal for its aborted economic development project on 30 acres at the former Avtex Superfund site in Front Royal, which EDA legal counsel successfully argued at civil trial was acquired under false pretenses, an estimated $23 million was fraudulently moved during the 2014 to 2018 timeframe of the EDA “financial scandal” during McDonald’s FR-WC EDA leadership.

The dates cited for her to report to begin incarceration were between August 11 and 17. And perhaps surprisingly it was also reported that McDonald will be sent to FMC (Federal Medical Center) Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas. As we recall from the sentencing hearing before Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon, McDonald’s defense team of Federal Court-appointed attorneys Andrea Harris and Abigail Thibeault had requested their client be sent to a Federal Prison Camp with an in-house medical facility. Readers may recall that among the several trial delays last fall, including one of a week, another of nearly two weeks, largely due to medical issues with involved parties, the longest one accommodated McDonald receiving a pacemaker to deal with heart rate and blood pressure issues she was experiencing during trial.

FMC Carswell is described as “An administrative security federal medical center with an adjacent minimum security stellite (sic) camp located in Fort Worth, TX”. The Bureau Of Prisons website notes the women’s medical center/prison complex currently houses 1,149 total inmates, with 1,016 at the Federal Medical Center, and 133 in the satellite camp, as it is described elsewhere on the facility website. Reportedly, it may be the closest, if not only federal prison in the nation with a full in-house medical facility.

There had been some talk that McDonald would be housed at the minimum security Alderson Federal Prison Camp in nearby West Virginia, which would have been more conventient to visitation by relatives in Warren County.

Attempts to reach court officials in Harrisonburg for verification of the above-cited information were unsuccessful prior to publication. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

It is also reported that the Faith Way home of McDonald and husband Samuel North, that they recently were forced to move out of due to ordered foreclosure as part of EDA asset recovery, will be sold at public auction on the front steps of the Warren County Courthouse on September 19, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.

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On Friday, June 28, 2024, the investigative team at the Warren County Sheriff’s Office launched a proactive undercover chat operation regarding the online solicitation of minors within the Warren County/Front Royal area. These investigative efforts highlight our commitment to protecting minors in our community and bringing those who prey on them to justice.

During the operation, an adult male contacted one of our investigators acting in an undercover capacity as a juvenile under the age of 15-years-old. During the chat exchange the suspect proceeded to request sexually explicit photos and content from who he believed was a juvenile female. A meeting was arranged, and the suspect traveled to Warren County, where he met the undercover detective posing as an underage girl for sexual purposes.

Through the course of this investigation police identified the suspect as Daryl Mumaw Jr., a 44-year-old resident of Edinburg, VA. After meeting with investigators, Mumaw was arrested on July 15, 2024, and transported to the Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren (RSW) Regional Jail. Mumaw appeared before the magistrate and was ordered to be held without bond. Mumaw’s court date for the listed offenses is set for July 25, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. in Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is an active member of the Northern Virginia/DC Metro (NOVA/DC) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, coordinated by the Virginia State Police. We request anyone with information regarding the solicitation or exploitation of any minor to contact Warren County Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, anyone with further information regarding this case should contact Criminal Investigations Sergeant M.R. Ramey at (540) 635-7100 or via email at mramey@warrencountysheriff.org.

• Name: Daryl Mumaw Jr.
• Description: 5’10” white male, blue eyes, and blonde hair
• Address: Edinburg, VA
• Offenses:
  • § 18.2-374.3. Use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children. (x2 felony counts)
  • § 18.2-370 Indecent Liberties (1 felony count)

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On Monday, May 27, 2024, Warren County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in Warren County. Warren County Sheriff’s Office received several downloads of CSAM online while running investigative software. This investigation was in reference to an online account sharing elicit material involving pubescent and pre-pubescent minors using a file sharing network.

On June 26, 2024, the special operations team of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at 147 Blue Knob Court, Front Royal, Virginia 22630. During the search, several computers and other electronics were removed from the home as evidence of the listed crimes. Through the course of this investigation, several legal processes were completed, and the investigative team was able to positively identify the perpetrator as Robert McCoy, a 30-year-old male from Front Royal, Virginia. On July 12, 2024, McCoy was arrested for violating Virginia Code § 18.2-374.1:1 Possession, reproduction, distribution, solicitation, and facilitation of child p*rnography. McCoy was transported to the Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren Regional Jail (RSW) without incident. Following his arrest, he appeared before a magistrate and was ordered to be held in custody without bond. The court date for the listed offenses has been set for July 25, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. in Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is an active member of the Northern Virginia/DC Metro (NOVA/DC) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which is coordinated by the Virginia State Police. We request anyone with information regarding the possession, reproduction, distribution, solicitation, and/or facilitation of any child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to contact the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with further information regarding this case, please contact Criminal Investigations Sergeant M.R. Ramey at (540) 635-7100 or via email at mramey@warrencountysheriff.org.

Name: Robert C. McCoy
Description: 5’10” white male, brown eyes, and brown hair
Address: Front Royal, VA
Offense: §18.2-374.1:1 Possession, reproduction, distribution, solicitation, and facilitation of child p*rnography. (x3 felony counts)

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Files from Frederick County’s Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center website indicate the Thursday, July 11, arrest and subsequent release on their own recognizance the following day of former Warren County Supervisor and FR-WC EDA Board of Directors member Ron Llewellyn and his wife, Corinne. Charges against the couple brought by direct indictment out of Warren County include Larceny Embezzlement (over $200 felony); Money Laundering – Conduct a Financial Transaction with Proceeds from Felony Activity. Ron has also been charged with forgery regarding the allegations.

That Forgery charge is dated February 25, 2013. Ron’s Larceny Embezzlement charge is dated December 21, 2011; and the Money Laundering to February 15, 2017. Corinne’s Money Laundering and Larceny Embezzlement counts are dated May 19, 2017.

These current allegations appear to be linked to former civil actions brought in Frederick County several years ago by Corinne’s siblings alleging the couple’s use to their own benefit of assets belonging to Corinne and her siblings mother Jane White, who lived with the Llewellyns in a large outbuilding on the couple’s Rose Hill estate in Front Royal between Virginia and North Royal Avenues. As we recall, those civil actions were settled by a combination of Judicial rulings, non-suits, and settlement out of court. Our information is that Ms. White has more recently been in an assisted living facility.

LLEWELLYN, RONALD indictments

LLEWELLYN, CORINNE indictments

It appears that at least a portion of the criminal charges involve the result of payments utilizing funds transfered out of Ron Llewellyn’s mother-in-law Jane White’s accounts to cover expenses for two busines he was involved in, Senary and Heptad. The latter, the Heptad real estate development company, has included other notable local community members as partners, including Joe Silek Jr. and Doug Napier. Heptad has filed civil litigation seeking $6 million in damages against the Town of Front Royal for its August 2023 rejection of an amended proffer package alleging undue interference in development of the 98.25-acre Swan Farm Heptad property on the west side of Leach Run Parkway not far from the new Warren Memorial Hosptial location. If memory serves us, the Swan Farm residential development project has been on the table for over a decade and their amended proffer package addressed infrastructure and other developmental changes that have occured over that period.

We reached out to Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell this weekend, who confirmed that to his knowledge no motions hearing date has yet been set. Corinne and Ron Llewellyn remain free on their own recognizance in the wake of their release by Frederick County officials at 12:50 and 12:51 p.m., ladies first, Friday afternoon, July 12.

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After a number of futile attempts over the past week to contact the U.S. Marshals Office in Harrisonburg regarding the checking in of former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer Rae McDonald to begin service of her 14-year prison sentence, earlier today, July 1, this reporter was given contact information of a U.S. Marshals Office Supervisor in another Virginia location as a possible alternative source of that information.

And shortly before 4 p.m. today, Monday July 1, that Marshals supervisor returned our call for information on McDonald’s status with the federal prison system. As readers may recall after a lengthy fall 2023 trial punctuated by several suspensions for various medical situations, including McDonald’s reported receipt of a pacemaker to deal with heart rate and blood pressure issues, on May 29, Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon sentenced McDonald to 14 years on her 30 upheld convictions with the order “not to report before June 24”. With June 24 having come and gone, many were wondering if, or when, McDonald would or had reported to begin service of her sentence. That 14-year sentence was a midway point between the prosecution-requested 22 years, and the defense sought 6 years of imprisonment for McDonald’s white-collar crimes.

“Essentially we are in a holding pattern because a facility has not been determined” for McDonald’s incarceration, we were told. The Marshals supervisor explained that was usually due to extenuating circ*mstances. In this case, due to defense motions for a correctional institution with an in-house medical facility due to their clients medical issues during trial, we concurred that was a possible reason for the delayed order for McDonald to report to begin serving her sentence.

Readers will be alerted when any additional information becomes available.

As Royal Examiner readers keeping up with the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority (FR-WC EDA, EDA) “financial scandal” and the aftermath of the unathorized movement of an estimated $26 million in EDA assets over a five-year period, circa 2014 to 2018, on May 29, former FR-WC EDA Executive Director Jennifer Rae McDonald was sentenced to 14 years in the Harrisonburg Federal Courthouse for her central role in the movement of EDA assets to her personal benefit and the benefit of others. A 10th Western District of Virginia federal court civil case jury convicted McDonald on all 34 counts she was charged with, though Judge Dillon later overturned four of the convictions on insufficient evidence by statute.

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