Abdulloi Doniyor Toshpulodzoda, a Tajik national, departed the United States in July after being granted multiple unsupervised passes from Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute (NVMHI) where he was held following a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of his landlord Mohammad Hemmatian. Court documents show that on May 29, 2024, prosecutors and Toshpulodzoda's attorney jointly requested and received court permission for him to travel with institute staff to Washington, D.C., to obtain updated passport documentation from the Tajik embassy. He later used that passport to fly from Dulles International Airport to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, by way of Turkey.
Toshpulodzoda had been under county supervision after being found NGRI in Hemmatian's killing but was permitted two "community passes" allowing him outside the psychiatric facility—one for the embassy trip and another to stay at an apartment furnished through a Fairfax County program. His departure has renewed scrutiny of Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, who critics say failed to prevent the travel that enabled his escape from U.S. jurisdiction.
What the Right Is Saying
Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized Descano directly, saying a judge had denied passport-related travel while Virginia authorities approved it anyway. "Fairfax's Steve Descano supported a violent, committed man accused of killing his landlord to obtain a passport," Miyares said in a statement. "The passport request should have been the five-alarm fire, but instead it ignored and he was allowed to walk out of a mental facility and flee the country. This is an unconscionable level of incompetence."
Virginians for Safe Communities, an advocacy group focusing on crimes involving foreign nationals, called Fairfax County's justice system "a joke" in a social media post: "You hear the one about the crazed killer who walked into Dulles and went to Tajikistan?" Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham questioned whether Descano policies could have been written worse if intentionally designed to allow such outcomes.
Conservative columnist Tim Carney, a Fairfax resident, noted on social media that his local prosecutor's office "endorsed giving an accused murderer, who was deemed insane, permission to travel to DC to get a passport. The accused murderer, on weekend leave, then hopped on a plane and fled to Asia." Former law enforcement officials responding to the incident described it as "total system failure," citing breakdowns in coordination between mental health institutions, prosecutorial oversight, and immigration enforcement.
What the Left Is Saying
Descano's office pushed back against characterization of its role in the case, stating that prosecutors "did not oppose" Toshpulodzoda taking an escorted visit outside NVMHI to obtain updated documentation but emphasized this was distinct from their position on broader community release. A Descano spokesman said prosecutors repeatedly opposed Toshpulodzoda's release during annual court hearings, citing public safety concerns, and pointed out that a judge agreed with the prosecution at a June hearing that he should remain in institutional custody.
Virginia Department of Behavioral Health spokesperson Laura Cunningham noted that federal and state privacy laws preclude public discussion of individual patient cases. She explained that Virginia law allows clinical teams to request "graduated privileges" for patients under a supervised process involving expert review before progressing to the next privilege level, describing it as standard therapeutic practice within mental health treatment protocols.
The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, which furnished the apartment where Toshpulodzoda stayed through its Permanent Supportive Housing Program, did not respond to requests for comment. Descano's office deferred questions about day-pass issuance decisions to VDBH, suggesting responsibility for supervision decisions lies with state behavioral health authorities rather than local prosecutors.
What the Numbers Show
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Toshpulodzoda had a final removal order placed on him after an immigration judge ordered his removal on June 24. He departed the United States before that order could be executed by federal authorities—a point critics have highlighted as indicating gaps between local supervision and federal immigration enforcement mechanisms.
Fairfax County's approach to Immigration and Customs Enforcement transfer requests has drawn separate scrutiny. Records obtained through public information requests show the county refused 615 ICE transfer requests and turned over just 11 illegal immigrants during a recent period, reflecting ongoing tensions between local criminal justice policies and federal immigration priorities in the jurisdiction Descano administers.
The DOJ has opened an investigation into Descano's handling of cases involving foreign nationals and illegal immigrants. The department has also announced what it describes as the largest denaturalization effort in its history, part of a broader enforcement posture targeting individuals with removal orders who remain in the country—highlighting the policy stakes involved when local decisions intersect with federal immigration enforcement.
The Bottom Line
The Toshpulodzoda case illustrates the intersection of mental health treatment protocols, prosecutorial discretion, and federal immigration enforcement—a convergence that critics say produced a preventable outcome. Questions remain about which authority bears primary responsibility: Descano's office says it opposed broader release while supporting escorted documentation trips, while state behavioral health officials oversaw the pass system that allowed unsupervised movement.
The DOJ investigation into Descano continues, examining whether his office systematically shielded illegal immigrants and foreign nationals from consequences. The case may prompt legislative scrutiny of Virginia's "community pass" procedures for individuals found NGRI in violent crimes, particularly regarding international travel documentation while such cases remain open.
What to watch: Whether VDBH modifies its graduated privilege protocols for high-risk patients; whether Descano faces any adverse action from the state bar or judicial system over his office's handling of the case; and how the DOJ investigation concludes. The incident has become a rallying point for advocates pushing for stricter coordination between local mental health systems, prosecutorial offices, and federal immigration authorities.