Chesapeake man pleads guilty in Eastern Shore crime spree

By Linda Cicoira

A Chesapeake man pleaded guilty Monday in Northampton Circuit Court for his part in the crime spree that extended to the lower Eastern Shore of Virginia in December 2023.

Twenty-nine-year-old Christopher Orbeta, of George Drive, pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of a local woman, a convenience store, and a local inn, and the abduction of another woman with the intent to extort. Sentencing was set for March 17, 2025. A status hearing for Dec. 7, 2023 allegations in Accomack County is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2025.

Thirty-two-year-old Brandon Theophilus Gibson, of Lens Avenue in Norfolk, who is accused of attempting to murder Exmore Police Chief Angelo DeMartino and Lt. Steve Lewis of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office and seven other indictments in connection with the spree, is scheduled for trial in early January. A trial for even more charges against Gibson in Accomack is set for Feb. 20.