State’s Attorney Charlie Smith Statement on National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

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April 26, 2023

 

Each year during the month of April, we recognize National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Since 1981, it has been a time of reflection to honor survivors and promote victims’ rights and services. The week comes and passes, but the important work remains a constant. The work we do is 24/7, 365 days a year. It doesn’t sleep, it doesn’t care if it is a holiday or a weekend. If there is a new crime victim in our community, we need to do our best to make them feel secure, heard, and supported in what will likely be a long and difficult journey through the legal system. We need to work with our law enforcement partners to identify who committed the crime, make an arrest, and if they are a threat to public safety, keep them behind bars until the case can be resolved.

 

Lost in the discourse of justice reform are the victims. The victims who need a voice, victims who may never speak again because someone took their life. I think about the victims of domestic violence who are caught in a seemingly endless cycle of abuse, facing a real possibility of a deadly encounter with their abuser. I think about the victims and families who must cope with a life-altering injury caused by someone who was reckless or violent. I reflect on the children who face horrible memories of being abused, perhaps by a relative, and the impact that will have on them for the rest of their lives. The victim that loses their life savings because of a scammer. The list is endless but the meaning is clear: we must lift up victims’ voices and hold the offenders accountable.

 

Among a number of victim-focused crime bills this legislative session in Annapolis, I strongly supported HB 226/SB 21 which will strengthen the prosecution of child sex abuse by expanding the definition of “Person in Position of Authority” to coaches, counselors, and teachers outside the school system that utilize their position to victimize children. For far too long, adults have used this loophole to groom and abuse kids.

HB 297/SB 292 will ensure that child trafficking victims are not prosecuted for their own victimization and instead refer them to proper services through the Regional Navigator Program. This is common sense legislation that will protect children who are in a situation that is out of their control.

 

The work of a prosecutor at this time in history is more challenging than ever. Many communities are facing a surge in crime. Trust in law enforcement is declining. Agencies are overloaded, underfunded, and struggling to keep up with the emergence of new technologies.   So it is vital that we recognize that each and every day, good women and men are working hard on behalf of our Frederick community. From the first responders to the social workers, to the victim/advocates and prosecutors, these public servants are there to see that the voice of the victim is still heard.

 

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith

Winchester, VA Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole For Murder of Ex-wife

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For Immediate Release

April 21, 2023

 

 

FREDERICK, MD This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court,  Judge Julie Stevenson Solt sentenced Lemuel Lee Roberts, age 35, of Winchester, VA to life without the possibility of parole, which was what the State had sought. Roberts was found guilty of 1st degree murder by a Frederick jury February 16, 2023.

 

Following the sentencing, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “Today we have justice for Kaitlin, her family, and her many friends and supporters.  Life without Parole was undoubtedly the right sentence for this heinous murderer.  One who showed zero remorse and took substantial steps to cover up his killing.”

 

Shortly after 2:00 am on January 11, 2020, a 911 caller reported finding a body in the roadway at English Muffin Court and English Muffin Way in Frederick, MD, deceased. The victim was identified as Kaitlin Nichole Roberts of Winchester, VA.

 

Investigators determined that Lemuel Roberts traveled to Frederick, Maryland with his ex-wife and mother of his children, Kaitlin Roberts, and stabbed her 32 times and ran over her body while driving a Buick Enclave. At trial, prosecutors presented video footage from a nearby business showing the defendant’s car approach the area of English Muffin Way and English Muffin Court around 11:49 pm on January 10, 2020. The victim exited the vehicle and was subsequently run over by the defendant.

 

Afterwards, Roberts went back to Winchester where he was shown on surveillance camera footage at a Sheetz Gas Station driving the Buick Enclave through a car wash. The defendant proceeded to dispose of evidence including the victim’s work nameplate and purse at a Sunoco gas station dumpster in Winchester. Roberts then returned to his home on Oakmont Circle in Winchester.

 

Through cellular phone tracking analysis by FBI Special Agent Michael Fowler, investigators determined Roberts then returned to the area of the victim’s body in Frederick around 2:00 am. SA Fowler also presented tracking data through cellular phone records and trackers the defendant had on vehicles that confirmed his movements in the late hours of January 10th into the early morning of January 11, 2020.

 

The defendant then went back to Winchester where he set the Buick Enclave on fire at Woods Mill Rd. and Red Bud Rd. Former Frederick County, VA Fire Marshall’s office investigator Kenneth Scott testified that it was the result of an intentional “incendiary” fire originating in the front passenger area of the vehicle.

 

The State was represented by Deputy State’s Attorney Kirsten Brown and Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Rebecca Clinton.

 

The State’s Attorney’s Office would like to recognize the hard work of investigators with the Frederick County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Frederick County, VA Fire Marshall’s Office, Frederick County, MD Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, FBI Baltimore, and the Montgomery County, MD Police Department.

 

 

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