Steve Neavling

Two Virginia friends thought it would be fun to test out a machine gun they are accused of stealing from the trunk of an FBI agent in Alexandria, The Washington Examiner reports.

Jonathan Cowden, 26, a security guard and Nate Whilden, a music instructor, face up to 10 years in prison on charges of possessing a machine gun.

Whilden is accused of breaking into the FBI sedan and stealing a black bag that contained an agency-issued Heckler and Koch MP5/10mm machine gun and body armor marked with the bureau’s letters.

“Oh, crap, what did I do,” Whilden is accused of saying after becoming aware he had stolen an FBI machine gun, The Washington Examiner reported.

Cowden is described as an “avid collector of exotic guns.”

 OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• FBI Informant Testifies Against Final of 5 Accused to Trying to Blow Up Bridge
• ATF Nominee B. Todd Jones Faces Doubts About Confirmation
• Walgreen to Pay $80M in Painkiller Case  Settlement
• Napolitano Discusses Border Security with Local Law Enforcement
• Closer Look at FBI’s Pursuit of Justice in Medgar Evers Case

Steve Neavling

The political future of Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell is at a stake as the FBI investigates gifts he received from a maker of dietary supplements, Bloomberg reports.

The company, Star Scientific, spent $2,268 on a getaway vacation for the governor, $15,000 for catering at his daughter’s wedding and $100,000 on campaign contribution to the Republican, Bloomberg wrote.

The inquiry raises the chances of spoiling McDonnell’s potential 2016 presidential bid

“This still-unfolding scandal is a real departure from the governor’s generally squeaky-clean image,” said Stephen Farnsworth, the director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. “This controversy has really put a dent into the governor’s political future.”

Steve Neavling

The FBI is investigating Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell after a campaign donor paid for catering and flowers at his daughter’s wedding, The Atlantic reports.

The probes centers around whether McDonnell violated campaign finance laws when Star Scientific picked up the $15,000 tab for food and flowers at the wedding in 2011. 

The governor said he never reported the donation because it was for his daughter, not him, The Atlantic wrote.

Virginia law only requires donation disclosure for contributions made to an office holder.

McDonnell lobbied vigorously for the company in the past, The Atlantic reported.

John Hinckley Jr. -abc news photo

John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been behaving well.

The Associated Press reports that he’s behaved well in the past year when leaving his home, a psychiatric hospital in Washington, to visit his mother in nearby Virginia.

AP reported that Secret Service agents trailed Hinckley on more than 35 days during 2012 when he visited his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va.

To read more click here.

Gregory Holley

A 25-year-old Woodbridge man accused of killing a former federal law enforcement officer during what police said was a robbery gone wrong has been indicted on a capital murder charge.

If convicted, Aric A. Smith could face the death penalty in the killing of Gregory Holley, 55. Holley, retired as an Army officer and as a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, was shot and killed walking his dog in his quiet Woodbridge neighborhood on Feb. 20.

Holley, a husband and father of four, was known both for his contagious laughter and for his serious side — someone who kept a Bible at his desk. After his final retirement in 2009, he settled into a job handling the finances at his Prince William County church.

To read more click here.

Steve Neavling

After nearly two years as special agent in charge of the Denver FBI office, James F. Yacone is on his way out to head up an elite FBI unit called   Critical Incident Response Group in Virginia, the Denver Post reports.

James F. Yacone plans to exit March 15, and he’ll replace Robert Blecksmith, who retired, as assistant director at the group, according to the Post. 

Yacone is a graduate of West Point, a decorated combat veteran and a criminal investigator.

Yacone has worked for the FBI since 1995.

Steve Neavling

The federal government is hoping to trade the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. for a new home without any additional costs, the Washington Business Journal reports.

Officials from the FBI and General Services Administration met with about 350 interested developers last week to outline the plan, the Journal wrote.

The FBI is looking for a new home because its current home is antiquated and cumbersome.

Cities and counties in Maryland and Virginia have expressed interest.

WASHINGTON — During the 10-year federal ban on assault weapons, the percentage of firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines seized by police agencies in Virginia dropped, only to rise sharply once the restrictions were lifted in 2004, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

The White House is leading a push to reinstate a national ban on large capacity magazines and assault weapons after a gunman armed with an AR-15 and 30-round magazines killed 20 children and seven adults in Connecticut. Vice President Biden is holding advisory meetings this week to hammer out a course of action that will address the issue of the larger magazines, which under the lapsed federal ban were those that held 11 or more rounds of ammunition.

In Virginia, the Post found that the rate at which police recovered firearms with high-capacity magazines — mostly handguns and to a smaller extent rifles — began to drop around 1998, four years into the ban. It hit a low of 9 percent of the total number of guns recovered the year the ban expired, 2004. To read the full story click here.