Change of date for Reston Zoo director, Dunkin' Donuts employee hearings in Fairfax County General District Court .
Abir Ail, the 20-year-old charged with second-degree murder in the death of Dunkin' Donuts co-owner Bharat Patel, will have a preliminary hearing in Fairfax County General District Court on Sept. 19.
Ali, who was an employee of Patel's, was scheduled to appear in court Monday, but prosecutors asked for a continuance.
Patel was found dead near his home on Winterthur Lane in June. He had blunt force trauma to the upper body. Police in Prince George's County, MD later arrested Ali, an family aquaintance of Patel's who had helped him open the new Dunkin' Donuts at Hunters Woods Village Center just days earlier.
Also getting a new court date: Meghan Mogensen, the Reston Zoo director charged with animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance.
Mogensen, 26, was supposed to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23. Her hearing has been changed to Sept. 28. Both of the charges against her are misdemeanors.
Mogensen was arrested in June following an investigation by police after an employee complained an ill wallaby was inumanely euthanized in January.
Related Content:
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Winterthur Murder Suspect in Court Aug. 6
Police: Autopsy for Bharat Patel Monday
Reston Zoo Director Charged in Wallaby Death
Employee Complaints Led to Reston Zoo Search
USDA: Reston Zoo Has Violation History
