Co-defendants Sentenced to 3 and 5 Years After Pleading Guilty to Armed Robbery of Clerks at Ghent Video Game Store

 NORFOLK, Va. — Two men have both been sentenced to serve multiple years in prison for robbing the clerks inside a Ghent video game store at gunpoint last year. Jayvon Antonio Bell, 25, was sentenced on Friday to serve three years in prison, and co-defendant Eddie Roschelle King, 23, was sentenced in October to serve five years in prison.

On the night of Aug. 22, 2023, Mr. Bell and Mr. King entered the Video Game Heaven store on Colonial Avenue, walked around the store until other customers left, then robbed the two clerks inside the store at gunpoint. Mr. King pointed a handgun at the cashier, gave him a plastic bag, and demanded all the cash from the register, while Mr. Bell stole several video games and demanded game console controllers. The co-defendants left the store with the bag of cash and merchandise, got in a minivan, and drove away. The entire robbery was captured on video.

Norfolk Police investigators were informed by Chesapeake Police that, within hours of the Video Game Heaven incident, another robbery was committed in Chesapeake by individuals with the same physical descriptions and driving the same minivan. Norfolk investigators submitted the minivan’s information to the Flock license plate recognition system and received alerts that the minivan had been driven in the direction of Video Game Heaven just before that robbery and then away from the store just after that robbery. On Aug. 25, 203, Chesapeake Police officers located and pulled over the minivan, identified the driver as Mr. Bell, and arrested him. Norfolk Police investigators interviewed Mr. Bell, and Mr. Bell admitted to being in possession of the minivan at the times of each robbery.

Investigators identified Mr. King after finding that, in 2022, both Mr. Bell and Mr. King had been arrested in another city for shoplifting from a different game store.

The following month, Mr. King was arrested by Chesapeake Police for the Aug. 22 robbery committed in that city. Chesapeake investigators obtained a search warrant for Mr. King’s cellphone location records and found that Mr. King had also been in the vicinity of Video Game Heaven at the time of the Norfolk robbery. Mr. King also had Mr. Bell saved as a contact in his phone and had several photos with Mr. Bell posted on social media. Norfolk Police secured warrants against both men for armed robbery, using a firearm in the commission of robbery, and conspiring to commit robbery.

Both co-defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced earlier this year in Chesapeake Circuit Court to their charges stemming from the Chesapeake robbery.

On April 29, 2024, Mr. King agreed to plead guilty to armed robbery, and the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss his additional charges. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Mr. King’s plea agreement and found him guilty. On Oct. 18, Judge LeCruise sentenced Mr. King to serve five years in prison and suspended another five years on the conditions that Mr. King be of uniform good behavior and comply with supervised probation for five years, be banned from the Video Game Heaven store and contacting the victims, and pay restitution to the store.

Mr. Bell initially pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a jury. In May, evidence related to the Flock system and Mr. Bell’s statements following his arrest that the Commonwealth was prepared to present at trial was suppressed by Judge LeCruise following a motion by Mr. Bell’s defense attorney. That ruling did not affect the other evidence the police had gathered against Mr. Bell, including the victims’ identification of Mr. Bell as one of the two men who robbed them. The Commonwealth had sufficient evidence to go to trial as planned.

On Sept. 24 — on the morning of Mr. Bell’s scheduled jury trial — Mr. Bell agreed to plead guilty to armed robbery and be sentenced to a maximum active term of five years in exchange for the Commonwealth dismissing his additional charges. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. Bell’s plea agreement and found him guilty. On Friday, Judge Lannetti sentenced Mr. Bell to serve three years in prison and suspended another five years on the same conditions ordered in Mr. King’s case.

“Mr. Bell and Mr. King held up the victims at gunpoint and for financial gain, endangering the victims and themselves,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We are fortunate that nobody was physically hurt, and now both of these men will go to prison for what they have done. I hope that, upon their release, they make better choices and go on to law-abiding lives.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney A. Robinson Winn prosecuted Mr. Bell and Mr. King, and Norfolk Police Detective Jose R. Oyola led the investigation.

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Sept. 27, 2024

Co-defendants Plead Guilty to Armed Robbery of Clerks at Ghent Video Game Store

NORFOLK, Va.  — Jayvon Antonio Bell, 25, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to armed robbery after he and a co-defendant, 23-year-old Eddie Roschelle King, robbed the clerks inside a Ghent store at gunpoint last year.

On the night of Aug. 22, 2023, Mr. Bell and Mr. King entered the Video Game Heaven store on Colonial Avenue, walked around the store until other customers left, and robbed the two clerks inside the store at gunpoint. Mr. King pointed a handgun at the cashier, gave him a plastic bag, and demanded all the cash from the register, while Mr. Bell stole several video games and demanded game console controllers. The co-defendants left the store with the bag of cash and merchandise, got in a minivan, and drove away. The entire robbery was captured on video.

Norfolk Police investigators were informed by Chesapeake Police that, within hours of the Video Game Heaven incident, another robbery was committed in Chesapeake by individuals with the same physical descriptions and driving the same minivan. Norfolk investigators submitted the minivan’s information to the Flock license plate recognition system and received alerts that the minivan had been driven in the direction of Video Game Heaven just before that robbery and then away from the store just after that robbery. On Aug. 25, Chesapeake Police officers located and pulled over the minivan, identified the driver as Mr. Bell, and arrested him. Norfolk Police investigators interviewed Mr. Bell, and Mr. Bell admitted to being in possession of the minivan at the times of each robbery.

Investigators identified Mr. King after finding that, in 2022, both Mr. Bell and Mr. King had been arrested in another city for shoplifting from a different game store.

The following month, Mr. King was arrested by Chesapeake Police for the Aug. 22 robbery committed in that city. Chesapeake investigators obtained a search warrant for Mr. King’s cellphone location records and found that Mr. King had also on Aug. 22 been in the vicinity of Video Game Heaven at the time of the Norfolk robbery. Mr. King also had Mr. Bell saved as a contact in his phone and had several photos with Mr. Bell posted on social media. Norfolk Police secured warrants against both men for armed robbery, using a firearm in the commission of robbery, and conspiring to commit robbery.

On April 29, 2024, Mr. King agreed to plead guilty to armed robbery, and the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss his additional charges. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Mr. King’s plea agreement, and Mr. King’s sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 18. There is no agreement to his sentence.

Mr. Bell initially pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a jury. Evidence related to the Flock system and Mr. Bell’s statements following his arrest that the Commonwealth was prepared to present at trial was suppressed by Judge LeCruise following a motion by Mr. Bell’s defense attorney. That ruling did not affect the other evidence the police had gathered against Mr. Bell, including the victims’ identification of Mr. Bell as one of the two men who robbed them. The Commonwealth had sufficient evidence to go to trial as planned.

On Sept. 24 — the morning of Mr. Bell’s scheduled jury trial — Mr. Bell agreed to plead guilty to armed robbery and be sentenced to a maximum active term of five years in exchange for the Commonwealth dismissing his additional charges. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. Bell’s plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on Dec. 6.

Both co-defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced earlier this year in Chesapeake Circuit Court to their charges stemming from the Chesapeake robbery.

“While the Flock system provided a key piece of information in this case, it was only one piece of the whole, and after a setback in the suppression hearing, we did not give up. We regrouped, prepared for trial, and secured a just outcome when the two codefendants pleaded guilty,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We intend to seek appropriate sentences against both of these men for their dangerous and premeditated crimes.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney A. Robinson Winn is prosecuting both co-defendant’s Norfolk cases on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Jose R. Oyola led the investigation.

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