Men Sentenced to 4 ½ Years and 5 Years Following Convictions for 2023 Berkley Shooting
NORFOLK, Va. — Jojuan Benton, 23, was sentenced in July to serve four and a half years in prison after a jury convicted him of malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle outside a Berkley residence in 2023. Mr. Benton’s co-defendant, 29-year-old Joseph Lee Sherrod Jr., pleaded guilty to his related charges in October 2024 and was sentenced to serve five years in prison.
In the early morning hours of April 22, 2023, three individuals were leaving a Grayson Avenue home when Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod opened fire on them, wounding one man in the leg. Another of the victims, who was unhurt, ran back inside the house, armed himself, and returned fire, injuring both Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod. That victim then drove the injured victim to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The victims did not know Mr. Benton or Mr. Sherrod or why they may have been targeted, but they noticed that one of the defendants (who was later identified as Mr. Sherrod) was wearing a bright yellow pair of shoes. At the scene of the shooting, Norfolk Police investigators collected evidence including bullet casings, blood spatter from a fence, and a bloodied shirt.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sherrod and Mr. Benton headed to the same hospital, and while in the emergency room the injured victim noticed two men — one of whom (Mr. Sherrod) was shirtless and wearing the same pair of yellow shoes — coming in to also seek treatment for gunshot wounds. Police were able to identify Mr. Sherrod and Mr. Benton at the hospital, and both men were charged with malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, two counts of attempting to commit malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle. Mr. Sherrod was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Investigators secured a search warrant for Mr. Benton’s home, where they recovered a firearm which appeared to be compatible with the bullet casings collected from the crime scene. The police submitted the gun, the casings, the bloodied shirt, and the blood spatter from the fence for forensic testing, but the results of those tests were not available by the time of Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod’s preliminary hearings in Norfolk General District Court. The Commonwealth argued that both men’s charges should be certified to Circuit Court for trial, and while Mr. Sherrod’s charges were certified, Mr. Benton’s were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. After the ballistics test results confirmed that the gun inside Mr. Benton’s home was used in the shooting, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office refiled charges against Mr. Benton by securing indictments from a grand jury. DNA test results confirmed that the blood from the shirt and fence belonged to Mr. Sherrod.
On Oct. 28, 2024, Mr. Sherrod agreed to plead guilty to malicious wounding, two counts of attempting to commit malicious wounding, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in exchange for the Commonwealth agreeing to the dismissal of his remaining charges. Mr. Sherrod’s plea agreement called for Mr. Sherrod to serve five years in prison and have another 30 years in prison suspended on the conditions that he be of uniform good behavior while incarcerated and for five years following his release, that he comply with supervised probation for five years following his release, and that he have no contact with the three victims. That sentence was within Mr. Sherrod’s state sentencing guidelines. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Sherrod’s plea agreement and sentenced him per the agreement.
Mr. Benton pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a jury. After hearing the evidence on May 19 and 20, the jury convicted Mr. Benton on May 21 of malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle. The jury dismissed his remaining charges.
On July 25, after hearing argument from the Commonwealth and the defense, Judge David W. Lannetti, who presided over the jury trial, sentenced Mr. Benton to serve four years and six months in prison and suspended another 13 years and six months on the conditions that Mr. Benton complete three years of supervised probation and five years of uniform good behavior following his release and have no contact with the victims or with Mr. Sherrod.
“In this case, fact was stranger than fiction,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While the police were doing high-quality work to investigate this case, it was the odd luck of the victim’s and defendants’ going to the same hospital that allowed the police to make a quick arrest of Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod. Thank you to the victim for paying attention and to the police for acting quickly on the victim’s information. Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod will now serve prison sentences for their unprovoked acts. My prosecutors and I will continue to focus our resources on the people who commit violence in our communities.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Caswell W. Richardson is prosecuting Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod’s cases, and Norfolk Police Detective Andrew J. Jowdy led the investigation.
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June 16, 2025
Jury Convicts Man of Malicious Wounding in 2023 Berkley Shooting, Co-defendant Sentenced to 5 Years Following Related Guilty Pleas
NORFOLK, Va. — A jury convicted Jojuan Benton, 22, of malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle after he and 29-year-old Joseph Lee Sherrod Jr. shot at three people who were leaving their Berkley residence in 2023. In October 2024, Mr. Sherrod pleaded guilty to his related charges and was sentenced to serve five years in prison.
In the early morning hours of April 22, 2023, the three victims were leaving their Grayson Avenue home when gunshots rang out. Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod had begun firing guns in the group’s direction, one of the victims was hit in his leg, and one of the other victims ran back inside the house to grab his gun. That victim returned fire, injuring both Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod, and drove the injured victim to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The victims did not know Mr. Benton or Mr. Sherrod or why they may have been targeted, but they noticed that one of the defendants (who was later identified as Mr. Sherrod) was wearing a bright yellow pair of shoes. At the scene of the shooting, Norfolk Police investigators collected evidence including bullet casings, blood spatter from a fence, and a bloodied shirt. After the injured victim arrived at the emergency room, he noticed two men — one of whom (Mr. Sherrod) was shirtless and wearing the same pair of yellow shoes — coming in to also seek treatment for gunshot wounds.
Police were able to identify Mr. Sherrod and Mr. Benton at the hospital, and both men were charged with malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, two counts of attempting to commit malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle. Mr. Sherrod, who has prior felony convictions, was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Investigators secured a search warrant for Mr. Benton’s home, where they recovered a firearm which appeared to be compatible with the bullet casings collected from the crime scene. The police submitted the gun, the casings, the bloodied shirt, and the blood spatter from the fence for forensic testing, but the results of those tests were not available by the time of Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod’s preliminary hearings in Norfolk General District Court. The Commonwealth argued that both men’s charges should be certified to Circuit Court for trial, and while Mr. Sherrod’s charges were certified, Mr. Benton’s were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. After the ballistics test results confirmed that the gun inside Mr. Benton’s home was used in the shooting, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office refiled charges against Mr. Benton by securing indictments from a grand jury. DNA test results confirmed that the blood from the shirt and fence belonged to Mr. Sherrod.
On Oct. 28, 2024, Mr. Sherrod agreed to plead guilty to malicious wounding, two counts of attempting to commit malicious wounding, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in exchange for the Commonwealth agreeing to the dismissal of his remaining charges. Mr. Sherrod’s plea agreement called for Mr. Sherrod to serve five years in prison and have another 30 years in prison suspended on the conditions that he be of uniform good behavior while incarcerated and for five years following his release, that he comply with supervised probation for five years following his release, and that he have no contact with the three victims. That sentence was within Mr. Sherrod’s state sentencing guidelines. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Sherrod’s plea agreement and sentenced him per the agreement.
Mr. Benton pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a jury. After hearing the evidence on May 19 and 20, the jury convicted Mr. Benton on May 21 of malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding, and maliciously shooting at a vehicle. The jury dismissed his remaining charges. Judge David W. Lannetti, who presided over Mr. Benton’s jury trial, set his sentencing hearing on July 25.
“Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod shot at the victims for no good reason. Mr. Benton chose a trial by jury, as was his right, and the jury spoke,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We appreciate the cooperation of the victims and witnesses in this case and are glad that the victims are now doing better. At sentencing we intend to ask for a sentence appropriate to Mr. Benton’s guilt and his actions in this dangerous crime.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Caswell W. Richardson is prosecuting Mr. Benton and Mr. Sherrod’s cases, and Norfolk Police Detective Andrew J. Jowdy led the investigation.
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