[1] Prosecutor Brandon Wrobleski filed a complaint against Spry for her handling of the case of Will Patterson Jr., a teenager who was accused of attempting to murder a Portsmouth police officer in November 2017.
[2] Spry stated that her office, which represented Patterson, was made aware of his incompetency to stand trial and mental health issues after he was found guilty in April 2018 but prior to his sentencing.
[2] In June 2020, Spry attended a protest in Portsmouth, and in August 2020 she was one of nineteen people, including two other public defenders, state senator Louise Lucas, and three NAACP representatives, charged with felony vandalism of a Confederate monument.
[3] Later, the Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales stated there was insufficient evidence to take any of the nineteen defendants to trial and a judge dismissed the charged in November 2020.
[1][4] The judge, Claire G. Cardwell, found that police went around prosecutors to file charges and attempted to prevent Morales from prosecuting the case by subpoenaing her as a witness.