Man Sentenced to 2 Years for Grand Theft Auto After Flock System Alerted Police to Car Stolen Earlier That Day
NORFOLK, Va. — Sundiata Kubari Rivera, 20, was sentenced on Friday to serve two years in prison for stealing a car earlier this year. The vehicle was located hours after it was stolen, when Norfolk Police received Flock alert on the reported license plate number.
On April 23, Chesapeake Police received a report of a stolen vehicle and a description of the suspect, who was later identified as Mr. Rivera. Later that day, the Flock system alerted Norfolk Police to the stolen vehicle being driven on Granby Street. Patrol officers found the vehicle parked in the 100 block of Dupre Avenue with Mr. Rivera behind the wheel. Mr. Rivera attempted to drive off when he saw the police cars approaching, but the officers boxed Mr. Rivera in with their patrol cars. Mr. Rivera then got out of the stolen vehicle and tried to run away before the officers detained him. Subsequent to Mr. Rivera’s arrest, the officers searched him and found narcotics in his sock. Mr. Rivera was brought before a magistrate and charged with felony grand larceny of an automobile and felony drug possession.
On Aug. 20, Mr. Rivera entered an agreement to plead guilty to felony grand larceny of an automobile and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. In exchange for Mr. Rivera’s pleas and his waiver of a preliminary hearing in lower court, the Commonwealth agreed to reduce Mr. Rivera’s felony drug charge to the misdemeanor charge and request that the sentencing judge in Circuit Court impose an active sentence of no more than two years in prison. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. Rivera’s plea agreement.
On Friday, after hearing arguments from the Commonwealth and the defense, Judge Lannetti sentenced Mr. Rivera to serve two years in prison and suspended another four years on the conditions that Mr. Rivera complete an indeterminate period of supervised probation and uniform good behavior for three years following his release.
“Whatever sentence Mr. Rivera was facing, it got longer when he tried to run from the officers,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Thanks to good police work and the Flock system, the police were able to apprehend Mr. Rivera and recover the victim’s car within a single day.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel G. Engel prosecuted Mr. Rivera’s case, and Norfolk Police Sergeant Vincent R. Tocco led the investigation.
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