Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Breaking Into Norfolk Woman’s Home, Stealing Groceries
NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk Circuit Court judge sentenced Nathaniel Taylor, 22, on Friday to three years in prison for breaking into a Northside woman’s home and stealing grocery items in 2021.
On Dec. 27, 2021, Mr. Taylor broke into the back window of the woman’s house on Hammett Avenue while she was not home. Mr. Taylor proceeded to steal a pack of frozen meat, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of Irish cream. He then left the home through a side door, leaving it wide open. The woman came home around 5 p.m. that evening, saw that her home had been burglarized, and contacted Norfolk Police.
Around 2 p.m. earlier that afternoon, Norfolk Police received 911 calls about an individual roaming through backyards in the same neighborhood, looking into homes, and appearing to try to open rear windows. Responding officers approached Mr. Taylor, who matched the descriptions given by the concerned citizens and was carrying a backpack. Mr. Taylor allowed the officers to search his backpack, and they observed the items that the woman later reported to have been stolen from her home. At that point in time, however, no burglaries had been reported, and Mr. Taylor was allowed to leave the area.
Officers secured warrants for Mr. Taylor’s arrest after receiving the subsequent burglary report. On Dec. 31, 2021, Mr. Taylor turned himself in at the Police Operations Center.
On Feb. 5, 2023, Mr. Taylor pleaded guilty to felony burglary and misdemeanor petit larceny. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. accepted Mr. Taylor’s plea agreement, which included an agreed active sentence of three years in prison. Judge Martin suspended an additional seven years in prison on the conditions that Mr. Taylor have no contact with the victim and complete two years of uniform good behavior and one year of supervised probation upon his release.
Mr. Taylor was on probation for a prior burglary conviction at the time of this offense, and a judge will determine in a hearing on Feb. 20 whether he faces additional sanctions for violating the terms of his probation.
“When a burglar breaks into someone’s home, he steals something much more precious than property,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “A burglar steals a person’s sense of happiness and security in her home. Mr. Taylor did that to this victim and, regardless of his reasons for doing so, he must serve his sanction.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Alberto Z. Herrero prosecuted Mr. Taylor’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective John A. Scraft Jr. led the investigation.
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