Man Sentenced to More Than 29 Years Following Jury Conviction for 2nd Degree Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding in 2022 Shooting, Violating Probation
NORFOLK, Va. — Rhodean Harolquan Rhodes-Hamlin, 27, was sentenced on Friday to serve 29 years and eight months in prison for shooting and killing 37-year-old Sidney Norman Parker and injuring Mr. Parker’s mother in 2022 as well as violating his probation at the time.
After 10 p.m. on July 19, 2022, Mr. Parker and Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin got into an altercation in the 3500 block of Mangrove Avenue. Mr. Parker believed he saw Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin push his girlfriend, so he pushed Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin stumbled backward but did not fall to the ground and was not injured. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin then pulled out a handgun and fired ten rounds. Six bullets hit Mr. Parker in his torso and groin, and Mr. Parker was pronounced dead after being transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. One bullet hit Mr. Parker’s mother — who had been standing next to him during the altercation — in her arm, and she required a rod to be surgically inserted to correct her injury.
Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin fled the scene on foot after the shooting, and video surveillance footage from nearby businesses captured Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin as he walked by. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin was arrested without incident by the Norfolk Police Fugitive Section the following week.
On Jan. 11, 2024, a jury found Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin guilty of the second-degree murder of Mr. Parker, the aggravated malicious wounding of Mr. Parker’s mother, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of those felonies. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin’s convictions constituted violations of the probation he was on for prior offenses.
On Friday, Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. sentenced Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin to serve 25 years in prison for the 2022 murder and shooting and suspended another 13 years on the conditions that Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin complete an indeterminate period of supervised probation and be of uniform good behavior until he is 70 years old. Judge Martin also revoked and ordered that Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin serve his previously suspended sentences of four years and eight months for his violations of probation.
“Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin murdered a man he called his friend and gravely wounded that man’s mother,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin took away a father and family man, and no amount of time he serves will atone for the harm he has caused. I grieve with the victims and their families and am grateful to them for testifying at trial. We could not have done this case without them.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Graham M. Stolle and former Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Melinda F. Seemar prosecuted Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin’s case, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi prosecuted Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin’s probation violations. Norfolk Police Detective Kyle D. Austin and former Norfolk Police Detective Peter G. Kolb led the 2022 investigation.
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Jan. 11, 2024
Norfolk Jury Convicts Man of Killing Man, Injuring Man’s Mother, in 2022 Mangrove Avenue Shooting
NORFOLK, Va. – On Thursday, a Norfolk jury convicted 27-year-old Rhodean Harolquan Rhodes-Hamlin of killing 37-year-old Sidney Norman Parker, injuring Mr. Parker’s mother, and two firearm charges from a 2022 Ingleside shooting.
After 10 p.m. on July 19, 2022, Mr. Parker and Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin got into an altercation in the 3500 block of Mangrove Avenue. Mr. Parker believed he saw Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin push his girlfriend, so he pushed Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin stumbled backward but did not fall to the ground and was not injured.
Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin then pulled out a handgun and fired ten rounds. Six bullets hit Mr. Parker in his torso and groin, and Mr. Parker was pronounced dead after being transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. One bullet hit Mr. Parker’s mother — who had been standing next to him during the altercation — in her arm, and she required a rod to be surgically inserted to correct her injury.
Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin fled the scene on foot after the shooting, and video surveillance footage from nearby businesses captured Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin as he walked by. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin was arrested without incident by the Norfolk Police Fugitive Section on July 26, 2022.
At trial, Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin claimed that he saw numerous bystanders with firearms during the altercation and that he was acting in self-defense after Mr. Parker pushed him. Mr. Parker was not armed.
On Thursday morning, after less than an hour of deliberation following a two-day trial, the jury found Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin guilty of second-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, and two counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of those felonies. Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin is docketed for sentencing before Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. on March 22.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Melinda F. Seemar and Graham M. Stolle are prosecuting Mr. Rhodes-Hamlin’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detectives Kyle D. Austin and Peter G. Kolb led the investigation.
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