Choking Convenience Store Employee Lands Springfield Man In Jail: SCSO

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A 28-year-old Springfield man is facing multiple charges, including assault and battery, after he tried to choke an employee at a Fredericksburg convenience store early Saturday morning, according to authorities.

Stafford County Sheriff’s deputies responded around 3:31 a.m. for the report of an assault in progress at the Wawa store located at 275 Butler Road, according to the incident report. Staff members told the deputies that a man had torn up the store and grabbed one of the employees by the neck with both hands.

The suspect, identified as Savonte Hawthorne of Springfield, grabbed the door of a patrol car that had just arrived on the scene, according to SCSO.

Hawthorne was arrested and taken to the Rappahannock Regional Jail, where the deputies served him with warrants for strangulation, assault and battery, disorderly conduct and public intoxication.

Emergency medical personnel checked the employee who Hawthorne had grabbed by the neck but no serious injuries were found, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Monday morning, Hawthorne was arraigned in Stafford General District Court, where the judge amended the strangulation charge to suffocation, which is a Class 6 felony, according to court records.

If convicted, Hawthorne could receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $2,500, according to the Code of Virginia. In addition to having his license suspended, he could be ordered to complete community service hours or other court-ordered programs.

The assault and battery charge is a Class 1 felony, according to the Code of Virginia. If convicted, Hawthorne could receive a sentence of up to life in prison without parole and a fine of up to $100,000. Class 1 felonies can also carry the death penalty in Virginia.

Hawthorne is due back in court on May 1 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records.