More From Chesapeake

Radley Balko | January 31, 2008

Today, officials in Chesapeake announced that a special prosecutor will be handling the murder case against Ryan Frederick, they say because the local prosecutor worked too closely with the deceased Det. Shivers on prior drug cases. I find that reasoning odd, unless the DA's office itself was complicit in the series of bad decisions that led to this raid.

The bad news is that the new prosecutor is Paul Ebert, the Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney for Prince William County. If you read my personal blog regularly, you'll know Ebert as the prosecutor who has steadfastly refused to investigate the allegations of rampant corruption by public officials and police officers in Manassas Park, Virginia in the Rack 'n' Roll Billiards case. He's also the guy whose constituents were so upset he didn't have an opponent last election, they started a write-in campaign for a ham sandwich.