Suspects in Onancock murder case include longtime gang figure

By Linda Cicoira

More details about the four men suspected of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an Onancock man have been disclosed over the last few days in circuit court records and from other accounts.

The victim, 27-year-old Rashaun Anthony Brown Jr., was shot to death on Feb. 13, 2024, on Stumpy Lane, not far from Lankford Highway’s shopping areas in Onley.

The suspects, Tyvon Lyncurtis Smith, Christopher Clovis-Weathers Monfiston, Kyriq Nygee Weathers, and Taquan Lee Bell were indicted by a multi-jurisdictional grand jury on Feb. 28, 2025. Those records were sealed “so the suspects were not alerted” and to lower “the risk of endangerment to the officers who attempt to arrest” them.

The most notorious of the suspects is the self-proclaimed King of the Bloods street gang, 32-two-year-old Smith, also known as Teddie, a heavy equipment operator who has been in and out of jail since he turned 18. He lived in the Parksley area for years. At the time of the murder and his arrest, his address was on English Court in Virginia Beach.

In 27 instances, charges against Smith have been dismissed, not prosecuted, overturned, or he has been acquitted. Smith pleaded guilty to possessing or transporting a firearm by a felon and petty larceny of property that belonged to a state trooper.

In June 2019, when Smith was 28, he was released when the Court of Appeals of Virginia overturned an Accomack Circuit Court jury’s decision that sent him to prison for 30 years for crimes that occurred in 2013. The convictions of inducing someone to commit perjury, participating in gang activity, and soliciting arson to keep witnesses from testifying against him were reversed and annulled by three judges.

Not long after Smith left prison in 2019, he was charged with driving 102 mph in a 55-mph zone that just happened to be on Lankford Highway in front of the state police barracks. He was sentenced to 102 days in jail with 90 days suspended. His driver’s license was suspended for six months and he was fined $1,100.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan told the judge who handed down the initial verdict and sentences, “Mr. Smith has been a plague in Accomack County from his first contact with law enforcement” when he was a juvenile.

Smith, and another Bloods member, were accused of shooting at a house in Rolling Acres and causing the inhabitants to duck for cover. A young woman, who said she was riding in the car with Smith and others, testified at a preliminary hearing, but she could not be found when Smith went to trial. Two others got “amnesia” and couldn’t recall what happened, and the charges were dropped.

Smith had 14 convictions as a juvenile. When he was 18, he was charged in connection with the shooting death of a Guatemalan native, who was waiting for a ride to work near Parksley. The first murder trial for Smith resulted in a hung jury. He was later acquitted when a judge said he could not convict based on the testimony of a co-defendant.

In connection with Brown’s death, Smith was indicted on counts of premeditated murder, use of a firearm in the murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possessing or transporting a firearm by a felon. He is being held in Accomack Jail with a bond denied.

Thirty-two-year-old Monfiston, of Watercrest Place in Chesapeake, is a former Exmore resident. He was indicted on the same charges as Smith and has retained Kenneth Singleton to represent him. Monfiston works for a towing company. He is also being held in Accomack Jail without bond. He pleaded guilty to malicious wounding, use of a firearm and participating in gang activity in 2014.

Twenty-seven-year-old Weathers, of Parksley, was indicted on the same charges as Smith and Monfiston. It is unclear if he is related to Monfiston. Weathers is being held in Virginia Beach City Jail without bond. At some point, he lived in both the Greenbush and Painter areas. Weathers is a construction worker.

Weathers was indicted in October of last year on April 2024 felony counts of possession of a Schedule I or II drug, possession with intent to manufacture a Schedule I or II, possession of a gun with a Schedule I or II, being a non-violent felon in possession of a firearm, and misdemeanor fleeing from an officer. He was also indicted on May 2024 misdemeanor counts of obstruction without force and a December 2024 count of violating pretrial conditions while on bond. A trial date for the earlier charges is April 24, 2025.

Twenty-six-year-old Bell, also known as Popout, of Gibbons Lane in Accomac, was indicted on the same counts as the others and of being an accessory after the fact and aiding or assisting the principal felon to avoid or escape from prosecution or punishment. He is an inmate at Accomack Jail and is being held without bond.

Bell was accused of strangulation in Northampton in 2023. He pleaded no contest with a deferred disposition as a first offender. Bell is expected to return for a review hearing there in September. A charge of assault and battery of a family member was not prosecuted.

In June of 2024, he was indicted on five counts of malicious wounding, two counts of shooting at an occupied dwelling, shooting from a vehicle, five counts of using a firearm in a felony, and participating in illegal gang activity. His trial was set for earlier this month and was continued.