Man Sentenced to Nearly 22 Years Following Jury Conviction of 2nd Degree Murder, Using Firearm in 2023 Wards Corner 7-Eleven Shooting
NORFOLK, Va. — Javon Jerome Reap, 29, was sentenced on Friday to serve 21 years and 11 months in prison after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder when he shot and killed 33-year-old Antwain Desean Curtis at point-blank range last year inside a Wards Corner convenience store.
On the night of Dec. 1, 2023, around 10:30 p.m., Mr. Reap entered the 7-Eleven at 151 W. Little Creek Road, saw and approached Mr. Curtis — who was unarmed — and within a matter of seconds shot Mr. Curtis once in his chest. Mr. Reap’s bullet pierced Mr. Curtis’ heart, and Mr. Curtis died almost instantly. Mr. Reap then fled the store in a vehicle. The entire incident lasted about 10 seconds and was captured at multiple angles by the store’s security cameras.
Norfolk Police investigators identified Mr. Reap as a suspect based on the surveillance footage and secured warrants against Mr. Reap for conspiring to commit second-degree murder, committing second-degree murder, and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder.
Cell phone data the police obtained showed that Mr. Reap’s phone had approached the 7-Eleven in the minutes before the shooting, was in the vicinity of the 7-Eleven at the time of the shooting, and had traveled away from the 7-Eleven in the minutes after the shooting. The vehicle in which Mr. Reap arrived and fled was captured in images by the Flock system also approaching and traveling away from the 7-Eleven during those times.
Mr. Reap fled the Commonwealth following the shooting, was located in New York City in March 2024, and was transferred to custody in Norfolk in April 2024.
In October, Mr. Reap requested to be tried by a jury on his charges. Mr. Reap chose to testify at the trial and claimed that he was acting in self-defense after feeling that Mr. Curtis had threatened him. The video footage from the store showed no such thing.
After nearly two hours of deliberation on Oct. 24, the jury found Mr. Reap guilty as charged of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the conspiracy charge, and the Commonwealth moved to dismiss that charge after the jury returned their verdicts on the other charges.
Judge Robert B. Rigney, who presided over Mr. Reap’s jury trial, sentenced Mr. Reap on Friday to serve 21 years and 11 months in prison (the high-end of Mr. Reap’s state sentencing guidelines) and suspended another six years and one month on the conditions that Mr. Reap be of uniform good behavior for three years and comply with supervised probation for two years following his release.
“Mr. Reap murdered Mr. Curtis in cold blood, plain and simple,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “That is why we tried him, that is why the jury convicted him, and that is why he will now serve more than two decades in prison. The core mission of my office is to prosecute and hold accountable the people who kill our fellow citizens. We have done so here today. I am grateful to the witnesses and law-enforcement officers who made it possible to do so, and I hope that this sentence brings some measure of closure to Mr. Curtis’s family.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Liane Galardi and J. Drew Fairbanks prosecuted Mr. Reap’s case, and Norfolk Police Detectives Maura A. Flatley and Kyle D. Austin led the investigation.
###
Oct. 24, 2024
Jury Convicts Man of 2nd Degree Murder, Using Firearm in 2023 Wards Corner 7-Eleven Shooting
NORFOLK, Va. — A jury found Javon Jerome Reap, 29, guilty on Thursday of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder after he shot and killed 33-year-old Antwain Desean Curtis at point-blank range last year inside a Wards Corner convenience store.
On the night of Dec. 1, 2023, around 10:30 p.m., Mr. Reap entered the 7-Eleven at 151 W. Little Creek Road, saw and approached Mr. Curtis — who was unarmed — and within a matter of seconds shot Mr. Curtis once in his chest. Mr. Reap’s bullet pierced Mr. Curtis’ heart, and Mr. Curtis died almost instantly. Mr. Reap then fled the store in a vehicle. The entire incident lasted about 10 seconds and was captured at multiple angles by the store’s security cameras.
Norfolk Police investigators identified Mr. Reap as a suspect based on the surveillance footage and secured warrants against Mr. Reap for conspiring to commit second-degree murder, committing second-degree murder, and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder.
Cell phone data the police obtained showed that Mr. Reap’s phone had approached the 7-Eleven in the minutes before the shooting, was in the vicinity of the 7-Eleven at the time of the shooting, and had traveled away from the 7-Eleven in the minutes after the shooting. The vehicle in which Mr. Reap arrived and fled was captured in images by the Flock system also approaching and traveling away from the 7-Eleven during those times.
Mr. Reap fled the Commonwealth following the shooting, was located in New York City in March 2024, and was transferred to custody in Norfolk in April 2024.
On Wednesday, Mr. Reap requested to be tried by a jury on his charges. Mr. Reap chose to testify at the trial and claimed that he was acting in self-defense after feeling that Mr. Curtis had threatened him. The video footage from the store showed no such thing.
After nearly two hours of deliberation on Thursday, the jury found Mr. Reap guilty as charged of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of second-degree murder. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the conspiracy charge, and the Commonwealth moved to dismiss that charge after the jury returned their verdicts on the other charges.
Judge Robert B. Rigney set Mr. Reap’s sentencing hearing on Dec. 20.
“The evidence at trial showed that Mr. Reap shot and killed Mr. Curtis for no reason, and that is murder,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “The jury has spoken and held Mr. Reap accountable for his actions, and at sentencing we will seek a sentence that reflects the serious crime that Mr. Reap has committed.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Liane Galardi and J. Drew Fairbanks are prosecuting Mr. Reap’s case, and Norfolk Police Detectives Maura A. Flatley and Kyle D. Austin led the investigation.
###