Man Sentenced to 30 Days for Embezzling from Employer After Victim Recommends Mercy for Former Employee

NORFOLK, Va. — Devan Wayne Johnson, 37, pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement and computer fraud and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail after he stole more than $40k-worth of equipment from his employer and began selling that equipment online for his own benefit.

Around Aug. 15, 2024, Mr. Johnson’s employer was looking into a decline in Mr. Johnson’s work productivity and discovered several thefts and sales of company equipment after inspecting Mr. Johnson’s work-issued computer and email account. The owner discovered that Mr. Johnson had been stealing and selling company equipment — mostly power tools — online using accounts linked to his work email address and that he had been conducting those transactions on his work computer. The total value of the stolen property was $46,425.

The company owner contacted a friend to purchase a pressure washer that he believed Mr. Johnson had stolen and listed online for $1,200. The friend purchased the pressure washer for the owner, the owner confirmed via the pressure washer’s serial number that Mr. Johnson had stolen it from the company, and he contacted Norfolk Police to report Mr. Johnson’s thefts. The owner then confronted Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Johnson admitted that he had stolen the property and was selling it.

On July 15, Mr. Johnson entered an agreement to plead guilty to felony embezzlement and computer fraud, pay $46,425 in restitution, and face an active prison sentence left to the discretion of the deciding judge. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. Johnson’s plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on Sept. 26. Because Mr. Johnson’s only criminal history was a 2016 conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, his Virginia sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of probation, though Mr. Johnson faced up to 40 years in prison.

On Sept. 26, Judge Scott heard evidence from the Commonwealth and the defendant. The Commonwealth intended to seek a substantial jail sentence for Mr. Johnson, but the victim employer informed the Commonwealth and the Court that he did not want to see Mr. Johnson go to jail. In light of the victim’s wishes, the Commonwealth agreed to a much shorter jail recommendation. Judge Scott sentenced Mr. Johnson to serve 30 days in jail for each charge — those sentences to run concurrently with one another — and suspended an additional five years and ten months in prison on conditions that the defendant pay full restitution, be of good behavior for 10 years, and be on indeterminate supervised probation after his release. Judge Scott authorized Mr. Johnson to serve his sentence on weekends at the discretion of the Sheriff.  

“Most prosecutors only listen to victims when they want the hammer for a defendant. We actually listen, especially when victims — who often, like in this case, are in the best position to know the defendant — recommend that we temper justice with mercy,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Johnson’s embezzlement was too large for us to ask for a totally suspended sentence in good conscience, but the grace and intercession of the victim made a difference in Mr. Johnson’s life. I hope that Mr. Johnson makes every effort to make the victim whole, to address whatever problems caused him to commit these crimes, and to take advantage of his second chance.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Wm. Joshua Holder prosecuted Mr. Johnson’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Kyle B. Barnes led the investigation.

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