[NOTE: Video footage enhanced and annotated, but otherwise unedited.]
Exculpatory video evidence, a sharp attorney, and a private investigator saved Patrick Joseph McNamara from being convicted for a crime he did not and could not have committed, according to a Motion to Dismiss filed by his defense counsel.
Accused of assault and battery by an as-yet unnamed woman and tried in the courts of social media and public opinion, things looked grim for McNamara—until timestamped video surveillance footage was uncovered and reviewed.
Defense attorney, Rhonda Quagliana, highlighted the following in her plea for dismissal of the charges against McNamara:
- During an appearance on April 9, 2024, to address the defense’s motion to continue, an assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney produced a jump drive and indicated that the contents would end the prosecution of Mr. McNamara.
- The relevant portions of the video produced are attached as Exhibits 4-6. The video comes from surveillance cameras pointed directly at the Rivanna Trail from Cosner Brothers Body Shop (“Cosner*), with multiple views provided.
- A witness at the business had informed Mr. Melia that Cosner maintains video for no more than 30 days. The data indicates the police had this video in their possession beginning on January 22, 2024.
- The video proves conclusively that Mr. McNamara did not commit the crime charged. Mr. McNamara is not dressed in the distinctive white puffy jacket the victim described.
- The video shows Mr. McNamara passing toward Free Bridge before the assault occurred, crossing paths with the victim just as she comes south on the trail under the bridge.
- A different video angle shows the victim stopping to throw something in the trash and then passing Mr. McNamara without incident.
- To be clear, the videos do not simply create reasonable doubt. They demonstrate without question what Mr. McNamara maintained all along – he was innocent. He was not the person who assaulted a woman, or women, on the Rivanna Trail.
- More astonishing still, at 9:54:50, the same surveillance video shows the actual assailant dressed exactly as the victim had described – in a white puffy jacket. A copy of this portion of the video is attached as Exhibit 7.
- Continued viewing of the surveillance videos shows the man in the white puffy jacket stopping to talk with two individuals (Exhibit 8) and at 10:03:12 a.m., walking south on the Rivanna Trail (Exhibit 9). At this exact time Mr. McNamara was at home on an active video call with co-workers.
- At 3:59 p.m., surveillance video shows four officers walking together down the trail (Exhibit 10).
Subsequently, Assistant Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney, William W. Tanner, filed his own Motion to Dismiss the charges against McNamara, concluding:
“There is no longer proof beyond a reasonable doubt to support this prosecution. WHEREFORE, the Commonwealth respectfully requests that this Honorable Court consider this motion the dismiss the charge against the Defendant.”
McNamara has not yet publicly responded to the prosecutor’s change in course, nor has he indicated his future plans and whether he will seek restitution for the erroneous contentions of his case.
