Ryan Mehaffey for Spotsylvania

Ryan Mehaffey for Spotsylvania Ryan Mehaffey for Commonwealth’s Attorney for Spotsylvania County, Virginia. This is a private page. It is not an official page of any government entity.

On August 12, 2026, Joe Phillip Giang was convicted of So**my and Aggravated Sexual Battery (x3) after a bench trial for...
08/12/2026

On August 12, 2026, Joe Phillip Giang was convicted of So**my and Aggravated Sexual Battery (x3) after a bench trial for offenses against a young child.

The details are being withheld out of respect for the privacy of the child. The defendant is incarcerated and scheduled to be sentenced on October 8, 2026. He will face a potential punishment of Life in prison.

This case was investigated by Det. Pattye Harper of the Child Victims Unit of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office - Roger L. Harris Sheriff, and it was tried by Deputy CA Amanda Sweeney and Senior ACA Josh Parrett. Thank you to each of them and to all involved in securing these convictions. Child sexual assault cases are incredibly difficult.

On August 7, 2026, David Moberly was convicted of Felony Embezzlement and Felony Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable ...
08/08/2026

On August 7, 2026, David Moberly was convicted of Felony Embezzlement and Felony Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult. He was remanded to jail and will be sentenced on November 9, 2026. Each of these felonies carries a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison.

Moberly was the owner of Dockside Realty, which offered real estate services in the Lake Anna before going out of business. Part of its business was managing short term rentals. Moberly embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the short term rental accounts. Dozens of homeowners and vacationers were affected. When there was no more money to operate Dockside Realty, he sent an email confessing what he had done. Since being charged with Felony Embezzlement, Moberly has paid the vast majority of restitution back to these victims.

Moberly also pleaded guilty to taking about $150,000 from an elderly man that he had financial power of attorney over. This money is gone with little prospect of recovery. However, one of Moberly’s other victims, who is in a much better financial position, has generously offered to help this victim in his old age. This case has some of the best and and some of the worst of humanity in it all at once.

I would like to thank ACA David Livermon and Victim-Witness Assistant Director Michelle Ashton for spending countless hours identifying the victims of these crimes and working so hard to make sure the maximum amount of restitution possible was recovered for these many victims before Moberly went to jail. The case was capably investigated by Det. K. Walsh of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office - Roger L. Harris Sheriff in combination with assistance from investigators at the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR).

On August 3, 2026, Kenneth Watson was sentenced to 10 years in prison, after argument to the court by the parties, on co...
08/08/2026

On August 3, 2026, Kenneth Watson was sentenced to 10 years in prison, after argument to the court by the parties, on convictions that included Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless Discharge of a Firearm. The court suspended an additional 15 years.

At a late night bonfire party in the woods, Watson (18 years old) got into a physical fight with another teenage male in an ongoing dispute over a female teenager they were both interested in. During the course of the physical fight at the bonfire, Watson shot his pistol in the direction of a group of people. Another person fired 4 shots in response. Christian Whalen (19 years old), an innocent bystander in the group of people, was shot in the leg and killed.

This incident is an example of how bad decisions can have serious and even permanent consequences. Christian Whalen’s life was taken. His family is devastated and will never fully heal. Watson will do serious prison time, and his family is likewise devastated.

Surround yourself with positive people doing positive things. The damage of some actions can’t be undone.

Thank you to Det. Basil of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office - Roger L. Harris Sheriff for his Herculean efforts in assembling the best possible evidence available in this case. My heart goes out to all the young people and their families that were affected by this intense trauma, especially the Whalen family.

Some days are a lot of fun and you just know they’re core memories even before they’re over. Bennett piloted his inaugur...
07/25/2026

Some days are a lot of fun and you just know they’re core memories even before they’re over.

Bennett piloted his inaugural Civil Air Patrol flight from Shannon Airport to Culpeper today. While waiting for him to return from his voyage, Stella and Charlie got the biggest, most delicious chocolate chip pancake I may have ever seen from Battlefield Restaurant (wonderful family owned restaurant in Fredericksburg), and Henry and Momma defended the bird feeder against multiple squirrel raiders from a sniper’s perch at home.

A big part of having a big family is making sure the needs and anxieties of the world don’t distract and consume you from missing those tender moments with your family. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

On July 22, 2026, Shawn Gerald Feiffer-Specht received an active 12 year sentence for Possession of Child Po*******hy af...
07/22/2026

On July 22, 2026, Shawn Gerald Feiffer-Specht received an active 12 year sentence for Possession of Child Po*******hy after sentence was argued in court. An additional prison sentence of 43 years was suspended by the court. The active sentence well-exceeded the high end of the sentencing guidelines.

Over the last year, increased emphasis has been placed on the investigation and prosecution of Possession of Child Po*******hy. The protection of our children from sexual predators is a priority in Spotsylvania County.

Images found in child po*******hy cases can range widely from mildly stomach turning to indescribable evil that most humans could never imagine. They are all awful, and please keep everyone that is forced to view these images as a part of the investigation and prosecution in your prayers. They can be difficult to forget.

Thank you to Senior CA Josh Parrett for prosecuting this sickening case, and thank you to Sgt. DiGravio, Det. Bradley, and Det. Sullivan of the Child Victim’s Unit of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office - Roger L. Harris Sheriff for their efforts in protecting our children from predators. I would also like to thank Senator Tara Durant for carrying legislation that expanded the legal definition of child po*******hy to include AI generated or modified images. That legislation will prove to be an important tool in the age of ubiquitous artificially generated images.

On July 13, 2026, Kurt Lydell Taylor was sentenced to 46 years in prison for charges including R**e and Strangulation. H...
07/14/2026

On July 13, 2026, Kurt Lydell Taylor was sentenced to 46 years in prison for charges including R**e and Strangulation. He was convicted after trial by a jury in January.

The trial evidence proved Taylor brutally held a woman down and strangled her while he r***d her. At sentencing, he gave a statement and asked the judge to excuse his lengthy criminal history. He refused to accept responsibility. He showed no remorse. He offered not a single word of regret for the many forensically documented injuries of the victim.

His sentence well exceeded the high end of the sentencing guidelines, and it was well earned. Thank you to Deputy CA Holli Wood, who argued sentence, and to all those who contributed to ensuring Taylor will not be able to do anything like this again in Spotsylvania.

Liberty is the defining characteristic of America. Freedom is what separates America from the rest of the world, and it ...
07/04/2026

Liberty is the defining characteristic of America. Freedom is what separates America from the rest of the world, and it is the font of American exceptionalism. It is what binds us together as Americans in a unique experiment that constantly asks whether the people can govern themselves, under God, or do they need a ruler to govern them. Many Nations exist, few are free.

250 years ago, America declared with its first words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” - U.S. Declaration of Independence.

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.” - Benjamin Franklin, Maxims and Morals from Dr. Franklin, 1807.

America is founded upon the principle that God created all men equal and gave each man certain rights that cannot be taken away. Governments justly only have such power as is given to them by the consent of the People.

In the first words of the Constitution of Virginia:

“Article I. Bill of Rights
Section 1. Equality and rights of men
That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

“Article I. Bill of Rights
Section 2. People the source of power
That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people...”

But a Nation under God and governed by a free People depends for its existence on the morality and virtue of its People.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adam, Letter to First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, October 11, 1798.

“Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.” George Washington, 1796 Farewell Address.

"To suppose any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without virtue in the people is a chimerical idea." - James Madison, Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 20, 1788.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Benjamin Franklin, Letter of April 17, 1787.

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Colonel Edward Carrington, May 27, 1788.

Because our experiment in liberty depends on the robust virtue and morality of the People, the People then are necessarily duty-bound, as an existential matter, “to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.” Virginia Declaration of Rights, Article I, Section 16.

Only then can we be “one Nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” - Pledge of Allegiance.

Over the last 250 years, many brave men and women have fought and died for our liberty. It is of paramount importance that the American experiment not fail and that its consecration to liberty and Godly virtue be ever renewed and confirmed, today and always, because there is no other bastion of greater freedom on earth than America.

250 years ago, “our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863. I pray today and always that our Nation be united and confirmed in liberty and the Godly virtues of “Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other.” Virginia Declaration of Rights, Article I, Section 16.

God Bless you all, and God bless America! 🇺🇸

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated and granted certiorari in two long-pending assault weapons ban cas...
07/01/2026

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated and granted certiorari in two long-pending assault weapons ban cases – Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins. Many expect these two cases to put to bed any argument that an AR-15 is not protected by the Second Amendment. These cases will likely be argued in October, and a ruling is expected next year. I fully expect the court to repeat in no uncertain terms what it has already stated: AR-15s are protected by the Second Amendment because they are in common use for lawful purposes.

In the meantime, however, there is widespread concern about the ability of Virginians to exercise their Second Amendment rights without fear of punishment. Their rights are chilled. Be not afraid.

The unconstitutional Public Carry Ban’s effective date was postponed under pressure earlier this week until July 1, 2027, so there is no uncertainty there – it is no threat until next year.

On the AWB, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil rights complaint against Virginia (pictured), seeking an injunction in federal court as applied to AR-15s, but no ruling has issued yet. The unconstitutional AWB is effective as of July 1, 2026, but injunctions are entered against it in Lancaster and Washington County Circuit Courts. There is unfortunately still risk that some officials may try to enforce the AWB in some way despite the injunctions, and it is important to stay up to date on the injunctions because they could be changed by an appellate court. But Senator Bill Stanley stated that he stands ready to support anyone charged under the AWB in violation of the injunction issued in Washington County. It completely escapes me why some insist on trying to disarm law-abiding citizens while simultaneously easing laws against violent and dangerous criminals and defunding successful gun violence reduction programs like Operation Ceasefire.

In addition to injunctions, many law enforcement officials publicly disavowed attempting to enforce the unconstitutional AWB. I salute each one of these principled constitutional officers, including at least 16 of my colleague Commonwealth’s Attorneys, and Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office - Roger L. Harris Sheriff, for their fidelity to the constitution despite threats of “accountability” from some in Richmond. Even more constitutional officers are quietly faithful to the constitution.

For my part, I will do all in my power to honor the Second Amendment right of law-abiding Spotsylvanians to defend themselves and their communities. The AWB is presumptively unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, and it cannot be lawfully enforced.

To address a couple common concerns that have come to my attention: prosecution for an alleged violation of the AWB “shall be had in the county or city in which the offense was committed.” Va Code 19.2-244. Prosecution of an AWB case cannot be transferred to another jurisdiction just to try to prosecute someone in a different jurisdiction that will do it. The Attorney General does not have the authority to prosecute AWB cases. Prosecution of AWB cases occurring in Spotsylvania County is solely within the discretion of the Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Also, a concern was raised that a court could find willful refusal to enforce the AWB to be a conflict and appoint a special prosecutor. It is not bad advice to be cautious, and judges do some strange things sometimes, but the concern is a little far-fetched for several technical and practical reasons. Technically, Commonwealth’s attorneys only have a duty to prosecute felonies; “he may in his discretion” prosecute misdemeanors. Va. Code 15.2-1627. Commonwealth’s attorneys do not have a duty to prosecute misdemeanors. Moreover, the General Assembly does not fund Commonwealth’s attorneys to prosecute misdemeanors. Funding for misdemeanor prosecutions comes exclusively from the localities. In Spotsylvania County, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring the county to be a Second Amendment sanctuary. There are no funds allocated for the discretionary prosecution of a misdemeanor AWB charge in Spotsylvania (explicitly the opposite by resolution), and that is sufficient grounds alone to dismiss any charge under the AWB. As a practical matter, a warrant for an AWB charge would originate in General District Court. There is a statutory right, with the consent of the defendant, for the Commonwealth’s Attorney to dismiss an AWB charge because of constitutional concerns at the first appearance of the case in General District Court. Va. Code 19.2-265.6. In 2020, the General Assembly passed Va. Code 19.2-265.6 to prevent judges from refusing to dismiss cases on the motion of the Commonwealth’s Attorney after battles on this point in Fairfax. There is no party in the criminal case to move the court for the Commonwealth’s Attorney to be conflicted from the case. It is admittedly theoretically possible for a General District Court judge, without a motion by a party, and with adverse legal precedent, to try to conflict the Commonwealth’s Attorney off a case before he exercises the statutory right to dismiss it, with the consent of the accused, but that is a little far-fetched.

There is no guarantee that your Commonwealth’s Attorney will be on this earth tomorrow, but while they are, they are a strong bulwark against any criminal prosecution in their locality under the AWB. Others are vigorously guarding your rights too. And, the ultimate bulwark against infringement of your rights is each of you - a jury of your peers. At least in Spotsylvania, there is no realistic chance a jury in convicts anyone of the AWB, which is another good reason to dismiss any AWB case. Be not afraid.

Lancaster County Circuit Court temporarily enjoined Virginia State Police from arresting anyone under the unconstitution...
06/27/2026

Lancaster County Circuit Court temporarily enjoined Virginia State Police from arresting anyone under the unconstitutional Assault Weapons Ban (AWB). That ruling affirms the value of every Virginian’s constitutional rights.

For Spotsylvanians, that means each person’s right to keep and bear arms under the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions will be honored even after the AWB’s effective date of July 1, 2026 since their local Commonwealth’s Attorney and Sheriff will not try to enforce the unconstitutional statute, and VSP is enjoined from arresting anyone under the AWB by the court order from Lancaster County.

The Assault Weapons Ban and the Public Carry Ban will continue to be litigated in court, so this is far from the final word, but the positions of the parties are beginning to crystallize.

In the Spotsylvania lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General claims in its brief, “The Commonwealth’s position is that Section 13 [of Article I of the Virginia Constitution] confers no private acquisition right at all, individual or militia-based, for the reasons stated in Section II [of the Attorney General’s brief].” Stated plainly, the Attorney General claims that you don’t have a right to buy a gun under the Virginia Constitution, no matter what kind of gun you want to buy.

The pictured firearm is one of Field and Stream’s “Best Turkey Shotguns of 2026.” It is also a banned “assault weapon” under the AWB because it is a semiautomatic shotgun with a pistol grip. It only carries four shotgun shells. It is not quite something anyone could credibly say is “designed intentionally to inflict maximum damage in a matter of seconds,” unless you happen to be talking about a turkey. The Attorney General says you don’t have a right to buy that turkey gun under the Virginia Constitution because you don’t have a right to buy any gun at all under the Virginia Constitution.

Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution states, “That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed;”

The AWB is indefensible and presumptively unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen. The Attorney General’s position is absurd. I will continue to vigorously guard and defend the constitutional right of every law-abiding citizen to keep and bear arms to defend themselves and their communities. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of our great nation, I pray that every Virginian reflects on the enormous value of this and their other constitutional rights. Our constitutional rights were secured through great difficulty by the sacrifices of the lives of many brave men and women. Our freedoms are not free, and they must be jealously guarded.

There’s my oldest boy getting dropped off at Civil Air Patrol encampment (mini-bootcamp). Making Dad proud on Father’s D...
06/21/2026

There’s my oldest boy getting dropped off at Civil Air Patrol encampment (mini-bootcamp). Making Dad proud on Father’s Day!

Address

P. O. Box 1873
Spotsylvania, VA
22553

Telephone

+15403482695

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ryan Mehaffey for Spotsylvania posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Ryan Mehaffey for Spotsylvania:

Shortcuts

Share

Category