Reston Residents Convicted for Roles in Drug-related Murder

Three men — including two Reston residents — have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the drug-related murder of Michael Cooker in 2018.

Charles Forbes, 30, of Reston, pleaded guilty late last week to using a firearm to commit a drug-related murder. Fredy Alfaro, 36, also of Reston, and Jimmie McCray, 36,  of Sterling,  also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder and conspiring to distribute marijuana.

Alfaro worked with Cooker and others to ship marijuana from California and sell it in Northern Virginia from January through April of 2018, according to court documents.

When Alfaro and Cooker had an argument over the conspiracy’s profits, Alfaro called McCray and offer him money to physically harm Cooker. The offer came after Cooker and Alfaro argued on April 17, court documents show. McCray told Forbes about Alfaro’s offer, court documents show.

Around 6 a.m. the next day, Cooker, McCray, Forbes and another individual who has not named drove to Chantilly where McCray gives Forbes a revolver.

Forbes left in a separate car with Cooker, pulled over in a wooded area in Fairfax Station, and shot him twice in the head roughly half-an-hour after the group separated. Forbes left his body there, according to police.

Alfaro was sentenced to 21 years in prison, McCray was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Forbes faces a maximum term of life in person when he is sentenced on April 9, 2021.