Norfolk Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted First-Degree Murder, Sentenced to 5 ½ Years for Shooting at Woman After Online Marketplace Sale
NORFOLK, Va. – Today, 21-year-old Lataevion Nasir Matthews was sentenced in Norfolk Circuit Court to an active five years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to commit first-degree murder, being a convicted violent felon in possession of a firearm and assaulting a law enforcement officer following an online marketplace sale in which Mr. Matthews shot at the seller.
On Sept. 6, 2022, Mr. Matthews met with the victim outside his residence to purchase a PlayStation that the victim listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace. The victim, driven to the location by her fiancé, confirmed that the person she was messaging on Facebook was Mr. Matthews and went through with the sale. However, she believed the cash Mr. Matthews paid her with was counterfeit. When she attempted to converse with Mr. Matthews about the cash, he went back inside the residence and shut the front door. The victim knocked on the door, and a different individual answered and refused to let her talk to Mr. Matthews before shutting the door again in her face. The victim knocked again, and the same individual answered the door again with a firearm on his person, so she began to walk away from the door and called 911.
As the victim walked away, Mr. Matthews exited the residence, followed the victim down the road, and fired several shots in her direction. The victim was able to flee to her fiancé’s vehicle, with her children in the backseat, and they drove several blocks away. Multiple bullets struck the vehicle, with some entering the backseat area, but no one was injured.
The shooting was captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera. When Norfolk Police officers arrived, they detained Mr. Matthews. While being detained, Mr. Matthews tried to fight off the officers and kicked one in the chest, which was recorded on the officer’s body-worn camera.
Mr. Matthews was convicted of a felony as a juvenile and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
On Tuesday, Mr. Matthews pleaded guilty to attempting to commit first-degree murder, being a convicted violent felon in possession of a firearm, and assaulting a law enforcement officer, and Judge David W. Lannetti accepted his plea. Pursuant to Mr. Matthews’ plea agreement, Judge Lannetti sentenced him to five and a half active years in prison, with an additional 10 years suspended on the conditions that Mr. Matthews have no contact with the victim and her family and that he complete five years of uniform good behavior as well as five years of supervised probation.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica L. Terkovich prosecuted Mr. Matthews’ case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
The Norfolk Police Department has marked E-Commerce Exchange Zones at each patrol division that are under 24-hour video surveillance and require no prior authorization or police response for community members to use when making legal transactions. For more information, visit https://www.norfolk.gov/3785/E-Commerce-Exchange-Zones.
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