Winsome Earle-Sears, Republican gubernatorial candidate for Virginia, center, during a campaign event at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department in Vienna, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Democratic commonwealth’s attorney is under investigation by Gov. Glenn Youngkin following the viral attempted kidnapping case at Fair Oaks Mall, which is just one of many instances where Descano has released high-profile criminals back into the community.

The outlet reported that the suspect in the attempted kidnapping case, Andres Caceres Jaldin, had over 30 previous run-ins with the law in the county.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (right), a Republican, slammed Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano (left), alleging that he has been lenient on illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes.  ( J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The commonwealth’s attorney is even becoming a topic in Sears’s race against Rep. Abigail Spanberger in the bid to become the next governor. Descano faced two past unsuccessful recall efforts in 2021.

“Abigail, it is time for you to come forward and make a decision. Do you support Steve Descano or do you support a recall?” Sears said. Descano’s campaign, along with several other campaigns, made a $1,000 contribution to Spanberger’s gubernatorial bid in March, according to vendor records on the Virginia Public Access Project website.

Last year, Descano faced calls to resign from Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, after Navarette Romero, a rape suspect who’s an illegal immigrant, was released back into the community in prior arrests, according to WJLA.

In addition, Fox News Digital reported in May that Guatemalan national Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron, an illegal immigrant, was arrested by ICE following a plea deal from the county. He faced numerous felony charges in January, including abduction by force, assault on a family member, and felony strangulation causing injury to a woman, but he only spent two months at a detention center in Fairfax County before the arrest by federal authorities.

Sears noted that immigration, and crime tied with it, has also played a major role in her campaign, given the major policy shifts from President Joe Biden to the Trump administration.

Former President Joe Biden poses with then-Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., as he departs after delivering the State of the Union address in March 2024. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

“So, as a result of being able to work with President Trump, we’ve been able to find 500-plus criminally illegal immigrants here in Virginia […] We found Tren de Aragua here. We have found other international gangs here in Virginia,” she said.

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After Youngkin called for an investigation after it had become known that attempted kidnapping suspect was released in Fairfax County days before the incident, Miyares said his “office will examine the facts and report to the people of Fairfax why [Commonwealth’s Attorney] Descano’s refusal to prosecute criminals has been allowed to endanger the public.”