VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — An 18-year-old has been sentenced to 17 years after pleading guilty to a 2019 shooting that killed a 23-year-old man in Virginia Beach.
18-year-old Cameron Barclift admitted to shooting and killing 23-year-old Cole Stuart Grant on May 8, 2019, around 11 p.m. Grant was pronounced dead at the scene.
Barclift was 16 at the time of the shooting, police said. He was charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and tried as an adult.
During his court hearing Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge A. Bonwill Shockley sentenced Barclift to 23 years in prison with 6 years suspended which means he will serve 17 years.
According to court documents, around 11 p.m. on May 2019, four young workers from Croc’s 19th Street Bistro in Virginia Beach were leaving work when they passed three juveniles walking in the Croc’s parking lot.
The workers stated they could smell marijuana coming from the juveniles walking.
In a press release from the Department of Justice, one of the passengers in the truck jokingly yelled at the juveniles “hey, stop smoking a doobie.”
As the truck stopped before turning onto 19th Street, the driver looked in his rearview mirror and saw Cameron Barclift point a handgun and shoot once at the truck. The bullet shattered the back window and struck the victim, Cole Grant, in the head, killing him.
Following the shooting, the driver called his boss and told him about the shooting and followed the juveniles.
On 18th Street, a Virginia Beach police officer was approached by the witnesses saying their friend had just been shot by a group of teens.
The officer stopped then-16-year-old Barclift who immediately admitted to firing the shot at the truck as it left the Croc’s parking lot.
In the release from the DOJ, Barclift got on the ground, put his hands out, and yelled “I did it. I did it. I shot that dude.”
In a follow-up interview with police, Barclift admitted to shooting at the truck because someone inside yelled profanity at him.
Download the WAVY News App to keep up with the latest news, weather and sports from WAVY-TV 10. Available in both the Apple and Google Play stores.
