LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Campbell County teen found guilty in the shooting of a Lynchburg student is out on bond.
In May of 2019, E.C. Glass High football player Dre’Yon Browley was shot and killed in the Meadows Apartments. His classmate Justin Barnett was also shot.
A jury found Austin Rozdilski guilty for shooting Barnett, but not guilty for killing Browley.
He was supposed to be sentenced on Mar. 18, but that changed when Governor Ralph Northam called for a state emergency. Northam issued an emergency judicial order, postponing non-essential court hearings, which impacted Rozdilski’s case.
Rozdilski turned 18 on Mar. 18. Commonwealth’s attorney Bethany Harrison said on Wednesday a judge had to decide to release him or transfer him to the Blue Ridge Regional Jail with the adults.
Harrison told 10 News her office fought to have him transferred, but the judge decided to release him on a $5,000 unsecured bond, surprising the commonwealth.
“I guess what was surprising is, he was released on an unsecured bond as opposed to a secured bond. Someone has to put up some sort of cash, property, or value, of the security and they’re putting that in place as a way to guarantee they will appear in court and also be in good behavior,” Harrison said.
10 News spoke with Joseph Sanzone, Rozdilski’s attorney. He said he put in a court order for his client because he could no longer sit in the juvenile detention center.
“I mean there are probably a few people that don’t like it. That’s always the case, but he should not be treated differently than anybody else. We were scheduled to go to court. He deserves his day in court. He couldn’t get it for reasons far beyond his control,” Sanzone said.
Harrison wants to make it clear to the public there are no cases of the coronavirus in Blue Ridge Regional Jails nor the juvenile detention center.
Rozdilski will still be sentenced at a later date. His next court appearance is April 6.