Richmond Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing a Firearm at the Scene of an Active Shooting
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2023, officers of the Richmond Police Department responded to a call of an active shooting near the intersection of Williamsburg Road and Government Road. Units arrived at that location within minutes of receiving the report and went to the parking lot of the Krispie’s Chicken restaurant, which was near the intersection where the shooting reportedly occurred. When they arrived, they saw Devon Martin, 30, wearing a hoodie which appeared to have a heavy, L-shaped object in the right pocket of the hoodie. As the officers approached Martin, he got into the passenger side of a vehicle. The officers ordered Martin to exit the vehicle and then conducted a pat down of his person. They found in Martin’s possession a Taurus, 9mm firearm in the pocket of his hoodie.
Martin was previously convicted in 2019 in the Eastern District of Virginia for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Anthony is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justic launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-96.
###
