Man Sentenced to 4 Years for Shooting Into Man’s Apartment in 2024
NORFOLK, Va. — Shamar Allen King, 26, was sentenced on Friday, March 14, to serve four years in prison after he, being a felon and prohibited from having a firearm, shot into a Barberton apartment on a school morning, endangering the man inside as well as nearby children.
On the morning of May 10, 2024, Mr. King drove with his girlfriend and her child to the Goff Street apartment of the child’s father. When the victim did not open his front door to let Mr. King’s girlfriend and their child inside the apartment due to their unannounced arrival, Mr. King got out of his girlfriend’s car armed with a gun and shot into the apartment 10 times while the child and other children who were waiting for their school bus were nearby. No one was injured.
After the shooting, Mr. King and his girlfriend grabbed the child, got back into their car and sped off. When police arrived, multiple eyewitnesses identified Mr. King as the shooter. Based on their investigation, police charged Mr. King with maliciously shooting into an occupied dwelling, using a firearm in the commission of that felony, being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempted malicious wounding, and child neglect.
On Dec. 19, 2024, Mr. King pleaded guilty to maliciously shooting into an occupied dwelling, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and child neglect, in exchange for the Commonwealth agreeing to dismiss his other charges. Mr. King’s sentence was left to the discretion of the judge up to four years and five months in prison, which was the midpoint of Mr. King’s sentencing guidelines.
Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. King’s plea agreement and, on March 14, after hearing argument from the Commonwealth and the defense, sentenced Mr. King to serve four years in prison. Judge Scott suspended two more years in prison on the conditions that Mr. King complete five years of uniform good behavior and indeterminate supervised probation following his release, complete an anger management course, and undergo other treatments deemed necessary by probation.
“It goes without saying that gunfire solves nothing. Mr. King had no reason to possess a gun, let alone to shoot it because another man did not open his door, and had he kept his temper he probably would not have come to the attention of law enforcement,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Thanks to the help of witnesses who identified Mr. King, we and the court have held Mr. King accountable for his dangerous and unnecessary conduct. We will continue to focus our energies on the small number of people who do dangerous things in our City.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Victoria T. Vaccaro prosecuted Mr. King’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Patrick A. Garvey led the investigation.
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