CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Why 19-year-old Daniel Wharton was targeted on December 5 remains a mystery and also sheds light on his accused killer's criminal past.
Wharton, a young computer engineering student from Alexandria, was shot to death outside apartments in Ettrick just off the campus of VSU.
Just hours later, Chesterfield County Police named fellow freshman Isaac Amissah Junior a prime suspect in Wharton's death. He was charged with second-degree murder and a first-time felony gun charge.
However, court records in Prince William County said Amissah had been charged with gun crimes before.
"The charges cannot be used against him at any point but the underlying evidence can be used in situations like bond hearings and at sentencing to give a judge some background," CBS6 legal expert Todd Stone said.
Amissah's background is one filled with felonies, all of which were dismissed.
"Null prossed means they're dropped but they can be brought back by a prosecutor. That's something a prosecutor can do but they want to make sure whatever caused it to be null prossed originally is no longer there," Stone said.
Eluding, gun possession and distribution charges for Amissah were all put on the back burner.
CBS6 is still waiting to hear back from Prince William County's Commonwealth's Attorney to find out why.
"He's alleged to be involved in a murder down here, so since the other matter involves a firearm, that's something the prosecutor will want to call and say hey, do you have evidence to make that case before we go to trial down here," Stone said.
CBS6 spoke with Wharton's mother on the phone. She is still grieving her son's loss, going into her first holiday season without him.
She said she is aware of Amissah's criminal past and has no further comment at this point in time.
