Fifteen-year cap on term for attempted murder incident

By Linda Cicoira

A 24-year-old Belle Haven man could have faced a maximum of 65 years in prison and more than $312,000 in fines in connection with the attempted murder of his child’s mother and related charges in December 2021.

Jaylon Calvin Harmon, also known as Jaylon C. Kellam, of Cemetery Road pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to malicious bodily injury of Kaitlyn Pipplin, attempted first-degree murder of Pipplin, abuse and neglect of a child, unlawful shooting during the commission of a felony, reckless handling of a firearm by a felon, assault and battery of Officer J.S. Rose of the Onley Police Department, and attempting to disarm Rose.

A plea bargain was struck with Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan because the defendant had no gunshot residue on his hands from the shooting. Morgan said that could have been due to the struggle with the officer. The agreement caps Harmon’s active sentence at 15 years. Judge W. Revell Lewis III accepted the arrangement and found the defendant guilty. A misdemeanor charge was dismissed.

Harmon also faces probation revocation for three previous convictions. A presentence report was ordered. In the agreement, Harmon waived his fourth amendment rights regarding search and seizure for five years after he is released from prison. A long-form presentence report was ordered. Sentencing was set for Aug. 24.

Morgan said the defendant and Pipplin got into an argument when Harmon took a pistol out of his jacket pocket. The woman was hit with gunfire in her legs and stomach. She had grabbed her son and ran outside and fell in the grass when she realized she had been shot.

“My son was rubbing my head and saying, ‘No, Mommy, no,'” the woman told authorities.

Morgan said the defendant took Pipplin to the hospital, where she told a nurse that Harmon had shot her. Two officers struggled to arrest Harmon. The prosecutor said Officer Rose felt the defendant “get through one of the safety barriers of his holster” while was attempting to restrain the suspect.

In another case, Adron Williams, a waterman who lives on Saxis Road in Saxis, pleaded guilty to illegally receiving $8,054 of unemployment benefits while selling commercial harvests to four wholesale businesses between June and December of 2020. In accordance with a plea bargain agreement, he was given a 12-month suspended jail term on the condition that he will be of good behavior for a year, pay restitution, cooperate with law enforcement on this and other matters, and pay court costs.

Thirty-eight-year-old Eric Mitchell Wells, of Ridge Road on Chincoteague Island, pleaded guilty to credit card larceny and attempted credit card fraud in connection with a Nov. 17, 2022, incident. The maximum punishment is 20 years in prison and a fine of $2,500. The incidents occurred in Parksley, where Wells was staying with his mother-in-law. The victim’s wallet was left in her car and later retrieved from the bushes behind her home. The defendant initially told police that he found them in the street and attempted to use them. A presentence report was ordered. Sentencing was set for June 22.