Correction: Our original report stated that Jorden had been sentenced. He was convicted, but is awaiting sentencing.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — 31-year-old Malcolm Jamaal Jorden was convicted of second-degree murder in Norfolk on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023 after pleading guilty to killing 29-year-old Jonathan Lee Bassett in 2020.
As part of his plea deal, he will face a maximum sentence of 18 years for this incident as well as probation violations, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Office announced.
He was scheduled for sentencing on March 1 but it was continued to a later date. On July 12, Jorden has a motion hearing to withdraw his guilty plea. The judge denied the motion and set the sentencing date for Aug. 2.
After midnight on Nov. 14, 2020, Jorden shot and pistol-whipped Basset inside an apartment on Nicholson Street, prosecutors say. The apartment belonged to Jorden’s girlfriend, and her three children were in the apartment during the shooting.
On Dec. 8, 2020, the Norfolk Police Fugitive Apprehension Squad arrested Jorden, and he confessed to killing Basset because he believed Basset was having relations with Jorden’s girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, prosecutors say.
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