Man Sentenced to 2 ½ Years Following Trial Conviction of Eluding Police in Stolen Car Identified by Flock System While Passenger Possessed Firearm as Felon

NORFOLK, Va. — Tyeontae Domonique-Zyeair Baxter, 23, was sentenced in September to serve two years and six months in prison after a judge convicted him at trial of felony grand larceny of an automobile, felony eluding, and three related misdemeanors from an incident last year in which he was caught driving a stolen car that police identified through the Flock license plate recognition system. Mr. Baxter’s co-defendant, Dakarion Jayden Birks-Wayne, was sentenced last year to serve one year and 10 months in prison for his role in this offense.

On Feb. 2, 2024, Norfolk Police patrol officers in the Ballentine Place neighborhood received a Flock alert for a stolen SUV, attempted to pull the vehicle over on Harrell Avenue, and began pursuing the vehicle when the driver — later identified as Mr. Baxter — did not pull over. Mr. Baxter crashed the vehicle at Ballentine Boulevard and Tarrant Street, and Mr. Baxter and the passenger — later identified as Mr. Birks-Wayne — ran from the wreck through a nearby yard.

Mr. Birks-Wayne was detained while trying to jump over a fence, which he damaged in the process. An officer saw Mr. Baxter dropping a jacket (which had the stolen car keys in one of its pockets) in a driveway, and another officer who had detained Mr. Birks-Wayne and looked inside the vehicle saw an AR-15 rifle in the passenger seat. That officer cleared the weapon and found that it was loaded with a round in the chamber. While searching for Mr. Baxter, officers were notified that someone with a matching description had been reported for climbing into the window of a nearby home. Officers went to that home, received permission from the owner to search inside, and found and detained Mr. Baxter. During their investigation to confirm Mr. Baxter’s identity, police found a photo on Mr. Baxter’s Instagram page of him wearing the same jacket that he had dropped after the crash.

Mr. Baxter was charged with felony grand larceny of an automobile, felony eluding, misdemeanor reckless driving, misdemeanor hit-and-run, and misdemeanor driving without a license. On June 26, Mr. Baxter pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a judge. After hearing the evidence, Judge David W. Lannetti found Mr. Baxter guilty as charged and set his sentencing hearing on Sept. 18.

At Mr. Baxter’s sentencing hearing, Judge Lannetti sentenced him to serve two years and six months in prison and suspended another six years and six months (as well as a fine for the hit-and-run) on the conditions that Mr. Baxter complete up to three years of supervised probation and five years of uniform good behavior following his release.

Mr. Birks-Wayne, who was 18 at the time, was also charged with felony grand larceny of an automobile and misdemeanor hit-and-run in addition to misdemeanor vandalism and — due to his prior criminal record — possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. In August 2024, Mr. Birks-Wayne entered an agreement to plead guilty to the vandalism and firearm charges and pay restitution to the homeowner whose fence was damaged. The Commonwealth agreed (because Mr. Birks-Wayne’s criminal record was limited to juvenile adjudications) not to argue at his sentencing for an active period of incarceration but that his sentence would ultimately be left to the discretion of the deciding judge. Judge Mary Jane Hall accepted Mr. Birks-Wayne’s plea agreement and found him guilty of the two charges.

At his sentencing in October 2024, Judge Hall found that Mr. Birks-Wayne had not sufficiently expressed remorse or acceptance of responsibility and sentenced him to serve one year and 10 months in custody, which was the midpoint of Ms. Birks-Wayne’s sentencing guidelines. Judge Hall suspended another four years and two months in prison on the conditions that Mr. Birks-Wayne be of uniform good behavior and complete supervised probation for two years following his release.

“Once again, we can credit the work of the Norfolk Police and the investigative value of the Flock license-plate reader system for enabling the police to locate a victim’s stolen car and to arrest two people for theft and weapons offenses related to that car,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “The responsible use of technology protects the civil rights of the innocent, reduces overpolicing and unnecessary police-citizen encounters, and allows for the apprehension of people who are committing crimes. My office will continue to hold accountable people who endanger our fellow citizens.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Victoria T. Vaccaro prosecuted Mr. Baxter’s case, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel G. Engel prosecuted Mr. Birks-Wayne’s case, and Norfolk Police Detectives Arturo F. Garcia and Ryan M. Crowder led the investigation.

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