Firearm Traced To Exchange Inside Woodgrove High Bathroom: Police

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Two juveniles and two adults are facing charges after a firearm exchanged hands multiple times, including at Woodgrove High School in the Purcellville area, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said Monday. After one of the adults dropped the firearm at the Dulles Town Center on New Year's Eve, the sheriff's office was able to trace the stolen firearm back to an exchange last October in a bathroom at Woodgrove High School.

One of the adults facing charges, the man who allegedly dropped the firearm at the Dulles Town Center, is 20-year-old Juan Joseph K. Jones of Ashburn. The other adult is 19-year-old Jacqueline P. Baxter of Ashburn. The sheriff's office is not identifying the two juveniles.

On Dec. 31, in the middle of the afternoon, sheriff's deputies were called to Dulles Town Center. During an altercation between two men at the mall, one of the men dropped a firearm, which was recovered by deputies inside the mall without further incident.

The man who dropped the firearm on New Year's Eve was identified as Jones, according to the sheriff's office. A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives trace conducted on the firearm found the gun belonged to a Purcellville resident. The firearm was determined to have been previously discovered missing by the owner but was never reported stolen to law enforcement.

The sheriff's office determined the firearm was taken last October by a juvenile relative of the owner of the firearm. Detectives learned the juvenile had given the firearm to another juvenile. The second juvenile was identified and in late February it was confirmed the exchange of the firearm took place inside a bathroom at Woodgrove High School.

The sheriff's office learned the second juvenile sold the firearm to Jones in Lovettsville on Oct. 23. The investigation revealed that Jones, and a second suspect, identified as Baxter, were in a vehicle stolen from the Chantilly area. They drove to Lovettsville to meet the juvenile and purchase the firearm.

The three were driving in the Lovettsville area when they crashed the stolen car and left the vehicle off of the roadway. The three fled the area on foot, running through the property of Lovettsville Elementary School.

A passerby later reported to law enforcement that a vehicle in the 40 block of South Berlin Turnpike was abandoned and appeared to have been involved in a crash. A subsequent investigation into the auto theft connected both Jones and Baxter to the incident.

Jones was previously charged in January with carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident at the Dulles Town Center. He was arrested on additional charges last Tuesday for receiving a stolen firearm, causing a firearm to be furnished to a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, conspiracy to receive stolen property, conspiracy to possess a firearm on school property for running through Lovettsville Elementary School property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, hit-and-run and driving without a license.

Baxter also was arrested last Tuesday and charged with receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Jones is being held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. Baxter was released from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on a $3,000 secured bond.

Juvenile petitions were issued Friday for the two high school students in coordination with Loudoun County Juvenile Court Services. They were both served the petitions Friday night, charging them with possession of a firearm on school property, carrying a concealed weapon, receiving with intent to distribute the stolen firearm, and possession of a firearm by a minor. The first juvenile is also being charged with grand larceny and the second juvenile is being charged with receiving a stolen firearm.