During the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 18, 2026, before the sun ever touched the horizon, while most of our citizens were still asleep in their homes, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, working in coordination with the Narcotics Interdiction Unit, moved with precision and purpose to execute a narcotics search warrant. This operation was conducted deliberately in the early morning hours to enhance safety, minimize risk, and protect our community. It sends a clear message: those who choose to sell or traffic deadly drugs in Henry County will be met with swift, decisive action.
Upon arrival at the home at 181 Acres Rd., Ridgeway, VA, deputies found the entry doors heavily fortified. Upon gaining entry, they located 60-year-old Ronald David Robinette inside the residence. Robinette was taken into custody without further incident. Inside the residence, deputies located multiple packages containing Fentanyl, along with digital scales, two stolen firearms, and over $7,000.00 in U.S. Currency. As a result of the investigation, Robinette has been charged with Violation of Virginia Code Section: 18.2-248 – Possession of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute.
Robinette is currently being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center without bond.
Sheriff Wayne Davis stated: “Fentanyl continues to pose a serious and deadly threat to our community. Even tiny amounts can have tragic consequences. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to aggressively pursuing those involved in the distribution of illegal narcotics. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs in Henry County and will continue to take decisive action to protect our citizens.”
Fentanyl is an extremely powerful and deadly drug. Even a tiny amount, about two milligrams, roughly the size of a few grains of salt, can be fatal. It can be found mixed with other drugs or disguised in counterfeit pills, making it especially dangerous.
This investigation remains ongoing. Additional charges may be forthcoming.
Christine Banfield is seen in an undated photo. Obtained by ABC News
(FAIRFAX, Va.) — Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães, who went along with former IRS agent Brendan Banfield in a northern Virginia double murder plot, was sentenced to to 10 years in prison with two years of probation.
On Friday morning, Fairfax County Judge Penney Azcarate decided to give the 25-year-old the maximum sentence, which was up to 10 years on a manslaughter charge for which she pleaded guilty in 2024.
“Your actions were deliberate, self-serving, and demonstrated a profound disregard for human life,” Azcarate said in delivering her ruling. “So, let’s get straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and this family.”
A new “20/20” episode about the case, “The Au Pair, The Affair and Murder” is scheduled to air Friday, Feb. 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Magalhães and Banfield were separately arrested over their roles in the Feb. 24, 2023, murders of Joseph Ryan and Banfield’s wife, Christine Banfield, which were committed inside the Banfield home.
Early in the investigation, detectives discovered evidence suggesting that Banfield and Magalhães were having an affair — and that they had plotted to kill his 37-year-old wife.
Part of that plot, according to prosecutors and Magalhães’ testimony, involved covertly creating a profile for, and thus masquerading as, Christine on a social media site for sexual fetishes.
Ryan, 39, took the bait in what prosecutors called the “catfishing” scheme. Ryan communicated back and forth with the profile account that was allegedly posing as Christine, as they together crafted a rape fantasy scenario using a knife, chains and rope.
“I have caused pain that cannot be measured. I pray for forgiveness from the Benson family, and from the Joseph Ryan family,” Magalhães said during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
“There is nothing I could possibly do to make it up to you, for your loss. There are so many regrets, this is my biggest. It’s a tragedy I have been carrying with me, and I know I can never take back the devastation of what I have done,” she added.
Saying she lost herself in the relationship with Banfield, she has changed in jail over the past three years.
At the time, Magalhães and Banfield told police they came home to find Ryan — a stranger to them — stabbing Christine Banfield to death. Banfield and Magalhães each fired a shot, killing Ryan, they said both in their 911 call and to responding officers at the scene.
In October 2023, Magalhães was charged with the second-degree murder of Ryan, as she had admitted to firing the second, fatal shot.
One year later, Magalhães took a plea deal with prosecutors, turning on Banfield in exchange for a lesser charge of manslaughter. Prosecutors also promised to recommend to the judge upon sentencing that Magalhães only get time served.
With that agreement, Magalhães sat for nearly four hours of interviews with prosecutors, largely confirming the theory detectives had developed about their scheme.
Magalhães also took the stand in the trial against Banfield in January, as he maintained his innocence. During his three-week-long trial, Banfield even took the stand, testifying in his own defense.
After two days — nearly nine hours total — of deliberations in the trial, the jury reached a verdict on Feb. 2. The jury found Banfield guilty on all four counts, which included two counts of aggravated murder, one count of child endangerment, and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.
Family and friends of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan filled the courtroom Friday morning for Magalhães’ sentencing.
Joining remotely online from Florida, Ryan’s mother, Deirdre Fisher, delivered her victim impact statement. She said her son was born two days before Christmas, making it a special holiday for them. Since Ryan’s murder, she has not been able to take down her Christmas tree, which sits behind the urn holding her son’s ashes.
“I say good morning to him each day when I turn on the tree’s lights, and I tell him I love him each night when I turn off the lights,” Fisher told the court.
Fisher said she has missed so many milestones now, including the chance to be a grandmother. There have been many times, Fisher said, when she’s reached for the phone to call her son, only to remember that he can’t and won’t answer.
Ryan’s aunt, Sangeeta Ryan, delivered her impact statement from the courtroom, pausing periodically between sobs.
“He was fun-loving and loved from the beginning. He was inquisitive, curious, smart, charming, and so dang talkative,” she said.
Ryan’s aunt described her nephew’s love for animals and the environment, noting that he often rescued and adopted dogs.
Sangeeta Ryan, added that he also was a dedicated member of their family, especially in taking care of his grandmother, who, she said, sold her home in wake of Ryan’s murder to “dodge memories, grief, and reporters.”
Acknowledging that Magalhães did eventually come forward with the truth, Sangeeta Ryan said that this still was not an act of heroism on Magalhães’ part.
“This could have been a very different ending where Juliana saved two lives,” she said could have been the case if Magalhães had not gone along with Banfield’s plot.
As Magalhães was charged only in Ryan’s murder, Judge Azcarate ruled that prosecutors could not include victim impact statements that Christine Banfield’s family members had prepared.
The death penalty was abolished in Virginia in 2021, meaning that, following his conviction, Banfield is facing life in prison without parole.
In this photo released by the Norfolk Police Department, first responders are shown at the scene of a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 12, 2026. (Norfolk Police Department)
(NORFOLK, Va.) — Two people are injured and a gunman is dead following a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday, according to an alert from the university.
The gunman opened fire in Constant Hall, an academic building, around 10:49 a.m., the university alert said.
The injured victims have been taken to a local hospital, the school said.
The school did not say how the gunman died.
Classes are canceled for the rest of the day, the university said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
