Man Pleads Guilty to Eluding Police After Speeding Down Granby, Ocean View in 2023

NORFOLK, Va. – Dorien Thomas Sylvester, 20, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony eluding after speeding through the city and failing to stop when a police officer attempted to pull him over last year.

After 1 a.m. on June 21, 2023, Mr. Sylvester was speeding northbound on Granby Street at more than 80 mph in a red Ford Taurus. A Norfolk Police officer saw the vehicle and began to follow it, but Mr. Sylvester was driving at such a high rate of speed that the officer was not able to safely close the gap between their vehicles. The officer eventually got closer to Mr. Sylvester and activated his vehicle’s lights and sirens to pull Mr. Sylvester over near a stoplight at the intersection of Granby Street and West Ocean View Avenue, but Mr. Sylvester sped through the red light and drove westbound on Ocean View Avenue at speeds up to 95 mph. The officer pursued Mr. Sylvester until Mr. Sylvester ran a stop sign and crashed into a fence off Third View Street.

Mr. Sylvester pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony eluding. Mr. Sylvester’s plea agreement calls for the judge to sentence him to up to three months in jail. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Sylvester’s plea, found him guilty, and set his sentencing for Aug. 30.

“Once again, we see someone turn a misdemeanor reckless driving into a felony eluding, all because he would not stop for the officer’s blue lights,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Eluding is a dangerous and totally avoidable crime, and people who elude and endanger themselves and others will face the consequences.” 

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James S. Strickland is prosecuting Mr. Sylvester’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Officer Milo Morse led the investigation.

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