April 6, 2017, News Release from Louisa Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire:
Louisa – Today, Louisa Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire announced that Russell W. Jeffries, 43, of Louisa, was found guilty of two Counts of Felonious Assault on a Family Member in Louisa Circuit Court.
After hearing the evidence, Judge Timothy K. Sanner scheduled sentencing for June 19, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. Due to these convictions, Mr. Jeffries faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Mr. Jeffries was in a relationship with a school bus driver for Louisa County Public Schools. On September 15, 2016, the defendant jumped on the hood of the moving school bus operated by his girlfriend, kicked in the windshield and assaulted her. He then forced her out of the school bus and they disappeared overnight.
Eventually, Detective Todd Lytton of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Virginia State Police, United States Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, found the defendant and victim in Spotsylvania walking together down Route 208.
While law enforcement believed she was abduction, the victim stated that she willingly went with Mr. Jeffries.
After law enforcement apprehended Jefferies, the subsequent investigation revealed that he committed a prior assault on his girlfriend several weeks earlier. That incident involved the defendant pouring diesel fuel on the victim and threatening to throw her into a pile of burning leaves due to her tardy retrieval of his Skoal. She fled to her neighbors’ residence where they helped her clean herself up.
Speaking on the conviction, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph J. D’Onofrio, Jr., who prosecuted the case with McGuire, said “Mr. Jeffries’s violent actions are troubling to say the least. This pattern of violent behavior is wholly unacceptable and must be addressed in a serious manner.”
McGuire, commenting on the case, said: “This case was made through the extensive efforts of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with state and federal law enforcement agencies. Their commitment to justice found the victim and ensured the outcome today.”
