Bond Denied In Fatal Case Of Road Rage
Sterling Man Was Hit On Dulles Access Road

By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 17, 2006

His attorney pleaded. His family begged. His friends said he was a good man who deserved to be set free. But nothing they said Tuesday could persuade a Loudoun County judge to release Indeshaw Adenaw, the Maryland man accused of killing a Sterling man in a road-rage incident near Dulles International Airport two weeks ago.

Loudoun Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne denied a request to release Adenaw, 32, on bond, ordering that the Gaithersburg man remain in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center pending his trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

Adenaw was arrested Aug. 5 after he allegedly struck and killed Charles Vo, 50, with his pickup on the Dulles Access Road. The incident began about 7:30 p.m. when Adenaw and Vo passed each other several times on the access road, airport authorities said. Vo, who was driving with his wife, two children and several passengers in his van, stopped in the left lane, got out, approached Adenaw's car and was hit moments later, according to witnesses and prosecutors.

Details of the incident remain murky, and the investigation continues. But during the hearing in Leesburg on Tuesday, Adenaw's attorney, John K. Zwerling, said Vo was probably "the main aggressor." More than two dozen family members, friends and neighbors were at the hearing to show their support for Adenaw, who is a self-employed designer of Web pages.

Several of his supporters said in interviews after the hearing that the road-rage incident was "out of character" for Adenaw and expressed shock at his arrest and incarceration.

One of Adenaw's neighbors, Mulu Getachew-Nelson, said he frequently cared for her young son, who is a schoolmate of Adenaw's 8-year-old son.

"He is a kind man. He is not a murderer," Getachew-Nelson said. "If I need some help, I'll call [Adenaw]. He's always there for every friend and every family member that calls for him."

Zwerling said that Adenaw does not have a criminal record and that he was prepared to call several witnesses to attest to his gentle demeanor. In asking the judge to release Adenaw, Zwerling said his client had no reason to duck the charges and was prepared to give up his driving privileges pending the outcome of the trial.

"There's zero indication he'd be a threat to anyone," Zwerling said.

Loudoun Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alejandra Hammack argued, however, that Adenaw -- an Ethiopian who is a permanent resident of the United States and holds a British passport -- is a flight risk and should remain in jail. She acknowledged that Adenaw's background might make him less dangerous but asked the judge to deny the request for bond, citing the seriousness of the charge.

"Whether he has lived an exemplary life and has had a sterling reputation, the court cannot ignore the deliberate actions he took that night," Hammack said. "This was not a case where the defendant pulled out a knife and stabbed someone, but he used just as deadly a weapon when he accelerated his car" into Vo.