Man gets total of 21 years for crimes on Shore during robbery spree

Christopher Allen Orbeta. Linda Cicoira photo.

By Linda Cicoira

A 29-year-old Chesapeake man will spend 15 active years in prison for crimes that occurred in Accomack County during a crime spree in December 2023 that ended with a high-speed chase and crash in Exmore. That total will be added to the six years and two months of active time he got for other felony offenses that occurred in Northampton during the spree.

Christopher Allen Orbeta, of George Drive, got the latest terms for robbing a delivery worker at the Temperanceville Corner Mart and for robbing, abducting, stealing, and taking a credit card from an employee at the Nelsonia Corner Mart.

Retired Judge William R. Savage III handed down the Accomack terms on Thursday. There was no written plea agreement in the case. The maximum term for the crimes was life plus 60 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

Orbeta was considered a principal in the second degree since another out-of-town man committed the crimes. Orbeta stayed in the car when a store worker was struck in the face with a soup can, was forced to go into the store’s office, and was robbed.

The accomplice, 33-year-old Brandon Theophilus Gibson, of Lens Avenue in Norfolk, recently admitted in Northampton Circuit Court to leading the crime spree. He said being arrested “rescued” him from a dark spiral that gradually elevated over a few months.

Gibson is awaiting sentencing for crimes there, including attempted murder of Exmore Police Chief Angelo DiMartino, using a gun in the crime, and abducting a Kiptopeke Royal Farms worker.

“I never had the intention to shoot an officer,” Gibson said. “I wanted to shoot myself.”

A September trial is set for Gibson in Accomack, where he faces seven felony accusations, most of which were violent and include robbery, abduction, and wounding.