Suspended third-year College student Andrew Alston is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing this morning, less than three weeks after being arrested in the stabbing death of a local firefighter, on an unrelated misdemeanor assault and battery charge brought by his ex-girlfriend, a University student.
The incident occurred in early September at a party on Jefferson Park Avenue, according to the police, when Alston allegedly hit his ex-girlfriend in the face as she tried to leave. The alleged victim later testified to police that Alston had assaulted her in the past as well.
Following the completion of today's hearing, Alston still faces second-degree murder charges for the death of Walker Sisk, 22, a Charlottesville firefighter who worked in the Seminole Trail department.
Alston was arrested Nov. 8 and is currently being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, which houses convicts and suspects who present a physical threat or risk of not appearing for trial, according to the jail's Web site.
Since being admitted to the maximum security facility, formerly the Albemarle-Charlottesville Joint Security Complex, Alston has spent the majority of his time in the medical unit, according to prison classification officer Phyllis Back.
After being arrested early in the morning for allegedly stabbing Sisk, Alston was taken to the jail where he was placed in the medical unit and treated for a hand injury. Six days later, on Nov. 14, Alston was released from the medical unit and placed into the prison's general population in a large cell with at least one other inmate, according to Back. The following day, Alston was transferred back to the medical unit for treatment unrelated to his initial hand injury.
A prison official who wished to remain anonymous said he heard Alston was involved in a fight, though he himself did not witness the incident.
City Police Sgt. Steve Dillon said incidents occurring at the jail were under the jurisdiction of Albemarle County Police, who are only called to the facility in cases of significant assault or homicide by an inmate. Ordinarily, prisoners face in-house punishment for lesser offenses committed at the jail, he said.
Citing legal restraints, prison spokesperson Larry Hammond said he could not comment on internal events.
Asst. Commonwealth Attorney Jon Zug, who is prosecuting the homicide charge against Alston, said he also could not discuss case but was able to confirm that Alston was involved in an incident.
"I heard that something happened to him," he said.
Alston's attorneys for the homicide case, Fred Wood and Richard Barrick, declined comment.
The anonymous jail official said once Alston is released from the medical unit, he either will be placed into protective custody in a cell without a roommate or in solitary confinement at the facility's segregation unit, which houses inmates that are considered to be combative or at an escape risk.
According to Back, Alston was transferred yesterday to the segregation unit, located in a separate area of the complex from the prison's general population. As of last night, however, the official said he doubted this claim.
Despite the alleged altercation, Alston still is scheduled to appear in Charlottesville General District Court at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, according to City Police Capt. Chip Harding. Because the assault charge is a misdemeanor offense, the case is not likely to be heard in front of a jury, he added.
Alston is scheduled to appear for a court hearing on the murder charge in January. He faces anywhere from five to 40 years in prison if convicted.
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