NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — 25-year-old Keonte Whitfield was sentenced on Nov. 15 after he pointed his gun at drivers before fleeing police and discarding the gun onto school property, a release states.
On the afternoon of June 12, a Norfolk Sheriff’s deputy drove past a man near the intersection of Tidewater Drive and Virginia Beach Boulevard. The man pulled a gun from his waistband and began pointing it at drivers.
The deputy put out an alert to nearby officers, who saw Whitfield running down Virginia Beach Boulevard toward Booker T. Washington High School. Officers pursued Whitfield and he attempted to discard the gun in a trash can on the school football field while he ran. Whitfield was arrested after the brief pursuit, and officers recovered the gun from beside the trash can where Whitfield had thrown it.
On Sept. 12, Whitfield entered an agreement to plead guilty to felony possession of a firearm on school property and misdemeanor brandishing, carrying of a concealed firearm and fleeing from law enforcement.
Judge Hall sentenced Whitfield to serve two years and 10 months in prison and suspended another two years and two months in prison on the felony charge and 24 months in jail on the misdemeanor charges on the conditions that Whitfield comply with supervised probation and be of uniform good behavior for three years following his release.
“Pointing a gun at someone is serious business, and Mr. Whitfield’s conduct earned him the prison sentence that he will now serve,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “If Mr. Whitfield had done more than that, he would have faced much more serious charges and much more time. We will continue to focus our resources on prosecuting the people who use guns to threaten and harm our community.”
