Man Sentenced to 17 Years After Pleading Guilty to Wounding 4 People Outside Legacy Lounge in 2022

NORFOLK, Va. – Tyshawn Marquis Gray, 26, pleaded guilty today and agreed to serve 17 years in prison for shooting and wounding four people, including a Norfolk Sheriff’s Office deputy, downtown outside Legacy Lounge in 2022.

In the early morning hours of Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, Mr. Gray was out with a group of friends at Legacy on East Plume Street. A fight broke out between Mr. Gray’s party and another group of patrons, and club security separated Mr. Gray from the group, pulling him out of the fight by the back of his shirt. After Mr. Gray was separated from the fight, Mr. Gray stood up and walked out of the nightclub. Surveillance video from a nearby building showed Mr. Gray walking to his truck parked around the corner of Plume and Atlantic streets and getting his .380 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol.

Meanwhile, club security began closing and clearing all the patrons out of Legacy. A crowd formed outside on the sidewalk, and there were isolated scuffles among the people there. Norfolk Police Department patrol officers and Norfolk Sheriff’s Office deputies were present to help with crowd control.

After getting his gun, Mr. Gray walked back to the corner of Plume and Atlantic streets where he stood and fired all eight rounds in his magazine into the crowd that was still in front of Legacy. Four people were wounded: Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ryan Moore (shot in his left shin and required skin grafts to correct his wound), two active-duty U.S. Navy sailors (one shot in his right knee and one shot in his left shoulder), and one of Mr. Gray’s own friends who had been out with him at Legacy that night (shot in his left arm). No one was killed, although Mr. Gray’s friend later died from unrelated circumstances.

After firing into the crowd, Mr. Gray turned around and walked back toward his truck as officers and deputies, including the one who had been shot, ran in his direction. Officers detained Mr. Gray and seized his gun from the waistband of his pants. The slide on Mr. Gray’s gun was locked back, meaning he had run out of ammunition while firing.

Forensic investigators collected eight cartridge casings from the scene, and ballistics testing confirmed that the casings matched Mr. Gray’s gun. Norfolk Police also served a search warrant on Mr. Gray’s truck and seized a gun safe and additional matching ammunition. Mr. Gray’s blood-alcohol concentration taken 70 minutes after the shooting was .10.

Mr. Gray was set to stand trial by jury beginning on Thursday, March 7. On Tuesday, Mr. Gray pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count of using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted his plea with an agreed sentence of 17 active years in prison and 21 additional years suspended on the conditions that Mr. Gray complete three years of supervised probation and 10 years of uniform good behavior, have no unauthorized contact with the victims, and not possess a firearm for 10 years following his release. The sentence is above the high-end of Mr. Gray’s sentencing guidelines.

“Mr. Gray’s crimes were as unnecessary as they were violent, and given the seriousness of the case, I chose to prosecute the case personally and to be ready to go to trial,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We are fortunate that the victims in this case all lived and that there were only four victims and not eight. This case is yet another warning to us all: Do not mix guns with alcohol. Do not abuse your gun rights. Do not commit senseless violence. Your actions can have negative consequences for a whole city. If you do commit violence, we have no choice but to seek a significant prison sentence, as we have done today.

“I am thankful to the victims for their cooperation and their willingness to testify, to the Norfolk Police Department for their high-quality investigation, and to the United States Navy for making their sailors available for trial. I am especially grateful to Deputy Moore for his heroism and cool head while under fire. His first thought and action were to run toward the gunfire and to render aid. He exemplifies the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office’s professionalism and their dedication to live by the Golden Rule and to treat others the way you would want to be treated. I thank him.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily A. Woodley, and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney C. Duane Close II prosecuted Mr. Gray’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Andrew J. Jowdy led the investigation.

###