Jury Convicts Man of 1st Degree Murder, Using Firearm in 2023 Motel Shooting After Co-defendant’s Guilty Plea to Assaulting Victim
NORFOLK, Va. — A jury convicted Isaiah K. Roberson, 28, on Aug. 29 of first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder after finding that Mr. Roberson shot and killed 32-year-old Christopher Ambrister outside a Military Highway motel in 2023. Mr. Roberson’s co-defendant, 23-year-old Gavin M. Kearney, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr. Ambrister just before he was fatally shot.
On the night of Sept. 26, 2023, Mr. Roberson and Mr. Kearney were driven by a third individual to the Motel 6 on North Military Highway. Mr. Kearney and Mr. Roberson got out of the car and walked to the back of the motel while the third person, waited inside the car. Security footage showed Mr. Kearney and Mr. Roberson encountering Mr. Ambrister, a confrontation ensuing, and Mr. Kearney punching Mr. Ambrister. Mr. Ambrister stumbled and scuffled with Mr. Kearney from the ground for a moment.
When Mr. Ambrister stood back up, Mr. Roberson took out a gun and shot him in his back. Mr. Roberson was visible only as a shadow on this portion of the surveillance video, but subsequent footage established that he was the shooter.
Fatally wounded, Mr. Ambrister ran toward the main entrance of the motel shouting, “I didn’t do nothing,” as the men pursued him. Security footage showed Mr. Ambrister stumbling outside the lobby and Mr. Roberson firing his gun a second time, again fatally striking Mr. Ambrister through his arm and chest. Mr. Ambrister got back up for a moment as Mr. Kearney and Mr. Roberson fled, but he collapsed a final time and died just outside the lobby door.
Mr. Kearney and Mr. Roberson ran back to the car they arrived in and told the driver to take them elsewhere. The three ended up at a different motel in the Ocean View area following the shooting. After Norfolk Police investigators arrived at the crime scene, they identified the suspect vehicle from security footage and determined its path of travel using images from the Flock system. Police then located and arrested the three co-defendants at the second motel later that night, charging both Mr. Kearney and Mr. Roberson with second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder and charging the driver with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
Forensic testing of a bullet recovered from Mr. Ambrister’s body as well as casings recovered from the crime scene showed that only one firearm was used to commit the murder. Furthermore, security footage from the shooting showed that the two shots were fired only 10 seconds apart, and Mr. Roberson was the only individual seen holding a firearm.
Based on the evidence pointing to Mr. Roberson as the shooter, the Commonwealth proceeded with a murder charge against Mr. Roberson. The evidence against Mr. Kearney established that he had assaulted Mr. Ambruster, but there was insufficient evidence to establish that Mr. Kearney knew that Mr. Roberson would shoot Mr. Ambruster or that Mr. Kearney aided Mr. Roberson in doing so. In October 2024, Mr. Kearney entered an agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery and serve 12 months in jail with no time suspended. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Mr. Kearney’s plea agreement and sentenced him in accordance with the agreement.
The Commonwealth secured a direct indictment for first-degree murder against Mr. Roberson, to which Mr. Roberson pleaded not guilty and requested to be tried by a jury. The initial jury in February 2025 was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the court granted a mistrial, and the court reset the case for a second jury trial. That second trial, before a different jury, took place from Aug. 27 to 29. After deliberating for about two hours, that jury convicted Mr. Roberson as charged of first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr., who presided over the second jury trial, set Mr. Roberson’s sentencing hearing on Dec. 19.
“Pulling out a gun, aiming it, and fatally shooting another person is first-degree murder,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We had made Mr. Roberson a fair plea offer, but he preferred to go to trial, as was his right, and we are glad that the jury followed the facts and law to the right result. At sentencing we will seek a sanction against Mr. Roberson that reflects his needless taking of Mr. Ambruster’s life. My office and I will continue to concentrate our efforts on holding accountable the people who perpetrate violence in our city.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Anthony J. Balady and Jessica L. Terkovich are prosecuting Mr. Roberson’s case, Senior Assistant Phil Y. Bailey assisted Ms. Terkovich in Mr. Roberson’s first trial, and Mr. Bailey and Ms. Terkovich prosecuted Mr. Kearney’s case. Norfolk Police Detectives Tyler K. Frear and John W. Murphy III led the investigation.
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