The suspect in the brutal murder of a beloved college professor was previously charged with a gun-related felony, but soft prosecutors let himserve just 60 days in jail, it has been revealed. 

Harold Rashad Dabney III, 26, the alleged killer of veterinarian professor Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, in Auburn, Alabama, was previously arrested in December 2023 in Virginia on gun charges. 

According to an arrest warrant first shared by Fox News, Dabney was homeless at the time when cops were called to reports of him trespassing in a business parking lot in Virginia Beach. 

Dabney was caught sleeping in the driver’s seat of a car and told an officer he was ‘f***ed up’ before refusing to say anything more. 

When the officer searched the car, they found a handgun under the driver’s seat with its serial number removed, a sawed-off shotgun in the backseat, and white pills, the arrest affidavit said. 

He was charged with felony possession or use of a shotgun and misdemeanor removing or altering serial number or other identification on a firearm, unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon, public intoxication, and trespassing. 

According to court records, the alleged would-be killer was handed a lenient deal where he pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors if prosecutors dropped the felony charge, which would have resulted in a prison sentence of two-to-10 years if convicted. 

He was instead handed a sentence of 12 months unsupervised probation and 60 days behind bars, which would have ended nine months before he allegedly killed Schnuelle this month. 

The prosecutor in charge of Virginia Beach at the time that Dabney was let free on felony gun charges was Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle, a Republican. 

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Stolle’s office said that Dabney’s felony charge of Possession of a Sawed-Off Shotgun ‘didn’t meet the statutory requirements because the barrel length was determined to be within the legal requirements; therefore, we were prohibited from being able to proceed on that charge.’ 

Harold Rashad Dabney III, 26, the suspect in the brutal murder of a beloved college professor, was previously charged with a gun-related felony but soft prosecutors let him avoid jail time in 2023, it has been revealed

Schneulle was walking her dog in Kiesel Park in Auburn when Dabney allegedly dragged her several hundred yards into the woods and stabbed her multiple times 

The prosecutor in charge of Virginia Beach at the time that Dabney was let free on felony gun charges was Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle, a Republican

The shocking revelation about Dabney’s past comes amid national furor over the killing of Iryna Zarutska at the hands of another criminal with a huge rap sheet, Decarlos Brown Jr, in North Carolina. 

Schnuelle was a professor emerita at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 until her retirement in 2021. 

In grisly details released by cops, officials said that Schneulle was walking her dog in Kiesel Park in Auburn when Dabney allegedly dragged her several hundred yards into the woods and stabbed her multiple times. 

Dabney, 28, has now been charged with two counts of capital murder — murder during a kidnapping and murder during a robbery. 

He was arrested the next day around 8:30am after cops received reports of a ‘suspicious person’ in the area. 

Officers said they ‘made observations that led them to believe Dabney had involvement with the homicide’ of Schnuelle the day prior. 

Dabney also allegedly stole Schnuelle’s Ford F-150 truck during the killing. 

Dabney was arrested Sunday afternoon and made his first appearance in court on Monday. He is being held in Lee County Jail without bond, and if convicted he faces the possibility of the death penalty. 

Schnuelle (center) is survived by her husband Archie and her children, and was described as ‘amazing’ and a ‘force’ to be reckoned with by her former students 

Schnuelle was killed in broad daylight near the 500 block of Chadwick Lane (pictured)

Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, (left), a professor emerita at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 until her retirement in 2021, was allegedly killed by Dabney in a park in Auburn on Saturday 

The coroner pronounced Schnuelle dead at the scene, with investigators yet to offer a motive for the killing. 

It is also unclear if Dabney personally knew Schnuelle – who is understood to have visited the park daily – or if he targeted her at random. 

Auburn University’s Department of Clinical Sciences released a statement Sunday morning confirming Schnuelle’s death, describing her as ‘a beloved member’ of the faculty. 

‘Auburn sends our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Gard Schnuelle during this unimaginably difficult time.’  

The late veterinarian has been hailed for her ‘welcoming’ personality and dedication to her students.

‘She was spunky and ready to make jokes. But if she saw something she didn’t like, she would always stand up for you and for herself,’; her former student Dr. Ashley Rutter told AL.com.

‘She’d be there to defend you and help you out.’

A former student of Schnuelle’s described her as ‘such a bright, bright light, just an all-around wonderful human being that is going to be missed terribly’ 

Another former student told the news outlet Schnuelle was ‘amazing’ and a ‘force’ to be reckoned with, despite being relatively small in stature.

‘She was only a little bit over 5-foot-2, not your typical large animal veterinarian,’ Destinee Bearden Patterson said. ‘She was a force in this world, such a bright, bright light, just an all-around wonderful human being that is going to be missed terribly.’ 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, and his wife also offered their condolences to Schnuelle’s loved ones.

‘Suzanne and I are devastated by the news of this tragic loss in our community,’ he wrote on X. ‘We are praying for the victim’s family and loved ones and for justice to be served.’

Schnuelle is survived by her husband Archie, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and her children.