Man Pleads Guilty to Burglarizing 2 Norfolk Restaurants in 2024

NORFOLK, Va. — Joseph Lionel Overman, 44, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to burglary and grand larceny after he burglarized two restaurants, stealing property from one of them, last summer.

Around 11:30 a.m. on July 23, 2024, Mr. Overman and another man broke into a restaurant on Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk and stole beer kegs, an ice tank, and several patio chairs. Norfolk Police investigators reviewed surveillance footage and recognized Mr. Overman as one of the two burglars. Based on their investigation and the value of the stolen items, police secured arrest warrants against Mr. Overman for burglary and grand larceny.

Around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2024, Mr. Overman broke into a restaurant on 21^st Street in Ghent with a knife in-hand, attempted and failed to open a cash register, and left through the front door. After reviewing security footage, employees identified Mr. Overman as the burglar to Norfolk Police, and investigators secured warrants against him for burglary and attempted petit larceny. On Sept. 10, 2024, officers saw Mr. Overman walking in the Ghent area on Olney Road and arrested him on his outstanding warrants. Mr. Overman waived his Miranda rights and admitted to breaking into the Ghent restaurant and trying to take money from the register.

On Tuesday, Mr. Overman entered an agreement to plead guilty to one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny. There was no agreement to his sentence. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Overman’s plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on April 17.

“Good police work, quality camera footage, and cooperation from victims will, together, produce a virtuous cycle where people who commit crimes get arrested and where prosecutors have the evidence necessary to hold people accountable,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Restaurants and other small businesses operate on narrow margins, and a break-in can be the difference between staying open and shutting down. We will continue to protect our citizens and their livelihoods.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Chandler W. Holcomb is prosecuting Mr. Overman’s cases, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony J. Comento argued Mr. Overman’s plea agreement, and Norfolk Police Detective John A. Schraft Jr. led the investigation.

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