A Navy Sailor accused of killing a man with a dumbbell waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
Jason Jablonski is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 45-year-old Herbert Bryant, of Virginia Beach. It happened on March 11.
Jablonski has been in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center since the incident. On Wednesday, News 3 was in the courtroom when Jablonski and his lawyer proposed a guilty plea of voluntary manslaughter. The attorney for the commonwealth agreed that would be appropriate in this case.
The judge said Jablonski could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. However, at the end of the hearing, the judge said he would not officially accept or deny that plea, and that he would let another judge decide that, along with sentencing on Jan. 10.
On March 11, Virginia Beach officers arrived at a home in the 1200 block of Edenham Court. The investigation led authorities to identify the first suspect as Jablonski. Navy officials later confirmed to News 3 that Jablonski is a Sailor assigned to Naval Station Norfolk.
A second suspect, Heather Totty, a 35-year-old woman from Virginia Beach, was also identified. She was charged with Accessory to Murder After the Fact.
Court documents show Jablonski was on a "crack bender" when he got into a fight with Bryant, beating Bryant in the face with a dumbbell, then pushing the dumbbell down on Bryant's neck until he stopped moving. Jablonski is said to have dragged Bryant's body outside, then fleeing to a hotel.
Jablonski had no previous convictions.
Totty was present when Jablonski murdered Bryant, according to court documents. She's accused of helping drag Bryant's body outside, then attempting to clean up the scene and collecting all Bryant's belongings in a bag. These belongings were later found in a dumpster.
Totty is said to have an extensive list on her criminal record, with offenses including fraud, accessory, burglary, contempt and petit larceny.
