Man guilty of abduction and strangulation likely to be deported

By Linda Cicoira

A 27-year-old landscape worker, who is likely to be deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was sentenced Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to two years of active time for abduction and strangulation of his son’s mother in August 2024.

Antonio Morales, of Onancock, was given five years with all but a year suspended for holding the woman against her will, and five years for strangulation. A felony count of burglary and two misdemeanors were not prosecuted. He has lived in the area for about two years and in the United States for about five, according to testimony.

According to the proffers, the couple split up that morning. Morales went to the house where he and the woman had planned to live before the breakup and found her with another man. Defense lawyer Shannon Dunham said he was heartbroken. “He is a good guy, who had a bad night.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fox said, “We do understand that he went to this house, broke in through a window, got into a fight with a man she was on a date with, and then got into a physical fight with her. When officers arrived, she was completely unclothed and scared to death. Morales walked out of the back room, chuckling. It was a completely terrifying event,” Fox said. “He wouldn’t let her out of the bedroom. He kneeled on her back.”

If he is not deported, he will be on two years of supervised probation and five years of good behavior. A protective order will be in place for two years.

In another case, 24-year-old Jacob Lee Leary, of Main Street on Chincoteague, was sentenced to five years in prison with all but 30 days suspended for abuse and neglect of a child and 12 months with all but five days suspended for DUI with a child on board. His driver’s license was suspended for a year, and he was fined $500. Leary will be on supervised probation for two years and good behavior for five years.

In a plea bargain, another count of abuse and neglect was not prosecuted.

Leary crashed the car he was driving on Trails End, where he lived. He said they were going to a spot in the development to take photographs. One child was in his lap, and the other was in his fiancée’s lap. All four of them were in the front seat. The three passengers were taken to the hospital. The child in Leary’s lap hit the windshield.

Both of the children fully recovered.

Leary registered .14 grams per 210 liters of breath on a breathalyzer test. The legal limit is .08. Testimony disclosed that he has been sober since the incident occurred, seeking help from several sources.