NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — One of four people charged in connection to a Valentine’s Day 2019 shooting at MacArthur Center entered a guilty plea Monday morning on two charges related to the incident.
D’Vegan Melvin confessed in court to one misdemeanor assault and battery charge and one count of felony gang participation.
His other nine charges were nolle prossed.
Melvin was at the mall with his brother, D’Quan Melvin, and a friend, Kevin Holloman, when the shooting unfolded.
10 On Your Side received camera footage of the shooting, which police said happened during a fight between rival gangs, one from Norfolk and the other from Portsmouth.
The high-angle video, from a surveillance camera mounted above the second-level entrance to the former Nordstrom store, shows the incident unfolding near an escalator.
10 On Your Side caught up with Dvegan’s attorney, Steven Washington, who says this was a much better outcome, as he would be facing a lot more jail time.
“The best thing was what he did today,” Washington explained.
Holloman pleaded guilty in the case to criminal activity as a gang member and firing a gun in a public place.
Despite the convictions, Washington doesn’t believe the mall shooting was gang related, in this case.
“I don’t feel like it was two gangs meeting up to go fight it out; it wasn’t that at all, absolutely not. It was just wrong place, wrong time and sadly that happens to a lot of people,” Washington stated.
In court, Dvegan’s mom, Kajeana Mainor took the stand, where she spoke about the fact he’d never been in trouble with the law before.
Washington says Mainor was not on board with the guilty pleas.
She denied an interview Monday, but in a previous interview with 10 On Your Side investigative reporter Chris Horne, said she believes her sons are the victims of guilt by association. “They were not in any gangs. I know for certain that they were not in any gangs,” she said.
D’Vegan Melvin’s sentencing is scheduled for February 14, exactly one year after the shooting. He could face up to six years in jail for the crimes.
D’Quan Melvin will also likely be in court next February.
WAVY’s Aesia Toliver will have more on this case coming up on air and online. Check back for updates.