Norfolk Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Grand Larceny for Stealing Nearly $2,000 from his Ghent Restaurant Employer

NORFOLK, Va. – Today, a Norfolk judge sentenced 62-year-old Fentroy Spevey to an active three years in prison for stealing nearly $2,000 worth of cash and gift certificates from a locally-owned restaurant in Ghent.

While working at the restaurant, Mr. Spevey picked up odd jobs two or three days a week and occasionally washed cars in the restaurant’s back parking lot. The afternoon of July 17, 2019, Mr. Spevey went inside the restaurant, covered the surveillance camera with a rag, broke the lock on the cabinet behind the bar, and stole a petty cash box containing $1,470 in cash and an undetermined amount of gift certificates likely worth an additional $500. Surveillance video showed Mr. Spevey inside the restaurant prior to the theft, but it did not record the theft itself due to the rag covering the camera.

That same evening, a bartender discovered the theft and reported it to the restaurant owners, who then reviewed the surveillance video and reported the theft to Norfolk Police. Mr. Spevey never returned to work and was not heard from by restaurant personnel after the theft. Mr. Spevey has a history of robbery, burglary, larceny, and fraud reaching to the early 1990s.

In June 2022, after consultation with the victim, Mr. Spevey pleaded to a deferred finding of guilt for grand larceny, and Judge David W. Lannetti accepted his plea. The conditions of the finding under advisement were that Mr. Spevey be of good behavior, pay full restitution to the restaurant, perform community service, and not have contact with personnel from or be within a block of the restaurant. Had Mr. Spevey complied, his case was to be reduced to a misdemeanor with a suspended sentence.

Mr. Spevey failed to abide by the terms of his plea by, among other things, committing two new petit larcenies in Virginia Beach. On Friday, Judge Lannetti sentenced Mr. Spevey to three active years in prison, with an additional two years in prison suspended on the conditions that Mr. Spevey be of uniform good behavior for three years, complete up to one year of supervised probation, and pay restitution. Mr. Spevey’s sentence was at the top end of his advisory sentencing guidelines.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi prosecuted Mr. Spevey’s case.

“Mr. Spevey abused the trust and friendship of his boss, stealing from the man who wanted to help him get on his feet,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We offered Mr. Spevey a chance to reform, make amends to the victim, and avoid a felony conviction and prison. Unfortunately, Mr. Spevey did not make the most of that chance. Mr. Spevey will now serve a sentence that reflects his long record and the crime he committed. I hope that he will be able to do better when he returns to our community.”

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