Jury Convicts Man of 1st Degree Murder, Co-defendants Plead Guilty to 2nd Degree Murder in Deadly 2023 Robbery Outside Norfolk Convenience Store
NORFOLK, Va. — A jury found Cevan Orinoel Pierce Jr., 25, guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder, murder by mob, robbery causing death, and two firearm charges for his part in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Antonio Wilson. Two co-defendants, 20-year-old TyJohn Lavon Brooks and 24-year-old Da’Shaun Jamil Robinson, also pleaded guilty in connection to Mr. Wilson’s murder. The three men murdered Mr. Wilson after planning to rob him of his firearm when they saw him at a convenience store last year.
On the afternoon of April 8, 2023, the three co-defendants drove together to a convenience store at 711 E. Virginia Beach Blvd. Surveillance footage from inside the convenience store showed the three men talking and preparing to buy snacks when they saw Mr. Wilson enter the store. Mr. Wilson exchanged a friendly greeting with Mr. Brooks and proceeded to the register to make a purchase. Mr. Brooks then stared at Mr. Wilson, spoke to Mr. Pierce and Mr. Robinson, and went outside the store with the two co-defendants. Surveillance footage from outside the entrance showed the three men walking around the corner and waiting together on the other side of the building.
Seconds later, Mr. Wilson left the store and walked down the same sidewalk toward the corner where the co-defendants waited. As soon as Mr. Wilson stepped past the corner of the store, the three co-defendants confronted him. Mr. Brooks pointed a gun at Mr. Wilson’s head and reached toward Mr. Wilson’s waist band, and Mr. Pierce and Mr. Robinson also drew guns and pointed them at Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson turned away from the three co-defendants and reached toward his waistband as if to draw his own firearm, and all three co-defendants began shooting at Mr. Wilson numerous times. Multiple bullets struck Mr. Wilson in his side and in his head, and he fell to the ground. As the three co-defendants began to run away, Mr. Pierce reached down to Mr. Wilson, who was mortally wounded, and robbed Mr. Wilson of his firearm. Mr. Pierce and Mr. Brooks ran from the scene, and Mr. Robinson left in a car with another man who was not involved in the crime. Mr. Wilson was pronounced dead shortly after medics transported him to the hospital.
Investigators were able to identify Mr. Brooks and Mr. Pierce by sight from surveillance footage because the men were already known to Norfolk Police from their gang affiliations and prior encounters with law enforcement. Mr. Robinson had been wearing a striped ski mask over his face. After executing a search warrant on the car Mr. Robinson used on the day of the shooting, investigators found the ski mask and, through DNA testing, confirmed Mr. Robinson’s identity. Investigators secured arrest warrants against each of the men for second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder.
Mr. Brooks was arrested in South Carolina later in April 2023, about two weeks after the shooting, and was transported back to Norfolk. Mr. Pierce was arrested the next month following a police pursuit on Interstate 64. Mr. Robinson was arrested in September 2023.
In March 2024, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office secured direct indictments from a grand jury against each of the co-defendants for first-degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of murder, murder by mob, robbery causing death, using a firearm in the commission of robbery, conspiring to commit robbery, malicious wounding by mob, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On July 3, 2024, Mr. Robinson entered an agreement to plead guilty to second-degree murder, and the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss his additional charges. There is no agreement to his sentence. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. Robinson’s plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on Nov. 1.
On Sept. 5, 2024, Mr. Brooks entered an agreement to plead guilty to second-degree murder and conspiring to commit second-degree murder, and the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss his additional charges. There is no agreement to his sentence. Judge Mary Jane Hall accepted Mr. Brooks’ plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on Dec. 13.
Mr. Pierce requested a jury trial and pleaded not guilty to each of his charges from the shooting. After hearing the evidence on Monday and Tuesday and deliberating for about two hours on Wednesday, a jury found Mr. Pierce guilty of first-degree murder, murder by mob, using a firearm in the commission of murder, robbery causing death, and using a firearm in the commission of robbery. Judge Robert B. Rigney set Mr. Pierce’s sentencing hearing on Dec. 20.
“Greed and malice led Cevan Pierce, Da’Shaun Robinson, and TyJohn Brooks to rob the victim and murder him in cold blood,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Thanks to the excellent work of the Norfolk Police Department and the availability of high-quality surveillance footage, we have held all three of these men accountable. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Brooks pleaded guilty, accepted responsibility, and spared the victim’s family from multiple trials. Mr. Pierce chose to stand trial, and we respect both his right to do so and the jury’s work in finding Mr. Pierce guilty. We will seek fitting sentences for each man when the time comes. We are very sorry for the loss Mr. Wilson’s family has suffered and will continue to walk with them through this journey.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie G. Johnson led the prosecution of all three co-defendants’ cases, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney David A. Johnson (no relation) assisted Ms. Johnson in the trial of Mr. Pierce, and Norfolk Police Detective Darrick Davis led the investigation.
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