2 Men Arrested In Connection With 1998 Unsolved Homicide Case Of Arlington Woman

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County Police Department’s Cold Case Unit announced two arrests Thursday in connection with the 1998 homicide of 53-year-old Andrea Cincotta of the Colonial Village neighborhood, according to a police release.

Cincotta was found dead on Aug. 21, 1998, in the bedroom she shared with James Christopher Johnson in an apartment in the 1700 block of N. Rhodes Street. At the time, there was no sign of a forced entry or of a struggle. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Cincotta's death to be a homicide.

On Thursday, the Cold Case Unit arrested Johnson, now a 59-year-old Alexandria resident, and Bobby Joe Leonard, 53, in connection with Cincotta's homicide. Johnson is being held without bond in the Arlington County Adult Detention Center and Leonard is being held at Wallens Ridge State Prison on unrelated charges.

The Cold Case Unit decided in 2013 to give Cincotta's unsolved homicide a fresh look. After reviewing case files, crime scene evidence and lab results, detectives conducted additional witness interviews. Working with the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, they recently presented indictments to and received them back from a grand jury.

“The passage of time does not diminish the need for answers and accountability in this senseless crime that took Andrea’s life,” said Chief of Police Andy Penn, in a release. “The indictments are the culmination of years of dedicated investigative work in our ongoing pursuit of justice on behalf of Andrea and her family.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in she was proud of the work done in to obtain indictments in the cold case.

"Andrea’s family has been seeking accountability since 1998," she said, in a release. "Rule 3.6 of the Professional Rules of Responsibility prevent me from commenting on the details of the case, but our team will continue to work diligently and to seek the truth.”

Although Johnson and Leonard were charged in connection with Cincotta's death, the case remains an active criminal investigation. Police ask anyone with information about this case to contact Detective R. Ortiz at 703-228-7402 or Rortiz@arlingtonva.us. Anonymous information may be submitted via the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).