New Church man admits to stealing from the Navy, wife also charged

By Linda Cicoira

A 43-year-old New Church man admitted Monday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk to stealing from the U.S. Navy in 2023 while he was a civilian contractor at the Norfolk Naval Yard, where he worked for the Department of Defense.

Almount Gunter, of Cutler’s Court Road, used his access at the supply yard more than 60 times during his off-work hours to take and recycle more than 60,000 pounds of mostly copper cables for which he was paid about $147,000, and another 7,100 pounds of materials, including high voltage ship-to-shore cables, used to allow Navy ships to shut off engines, reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

His wife, Tyra Giddens, was also charged with the crimes. Vague court records stated that a deal was made with her in exchange for testimony against him. A third person who was also said to be involved was allegedly solicited by Giddens. That person was not named in the indictments or files.

After Gunter was arrested while free on bond, he took another 3,000 pounds of copper to Richmond and was paid $10,065 in cash.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service further looked into Gunter’s illicit income, revealing that from May 2020 to August 2021, the defendant schemed to fraudulently obtain money through multiple government-backed loans by alleging a fake business.

He was indicted for those crimes on Feb. 11, 2026. About six days earlier, he pleaded guilty in Accomack Circuit Court to a March 2025 charge of stealing building materials and tools belonging to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, where he apparently worked. Judgment was deferred for a year. That charge would have been reduced to a misdemeanor had he remained on good behavior until February 2027. Gunter said he was borrowing the tools and had taken property he believed to be scrap. Restitution of $2,830 was ordered.

In the Navy case, Gunter bought a $5,700 commercial wire stripping machine, which was delivered through customs to his home in a 40-foot-long shipping container. “The defendant acquired the item after learning … that wire is worth more recycled if stripped of the insulation,” the court record stated.

Giddens is accused of renting a pickup used to transport the stolen goods. For 23 days, she paid $2,300 for rentals. She allegedly rented 21 trucks for a total of 168 days, costing more than $15,000. The third party was allegedly solicited “to assist (Gunter) with a job … loading a truck on base where he was a supervisor. The third party was a family friend” of Giddens.

Naval Station Norfolk base police arrested Gunter while he was driving a rental truck. The third person was riding in the passenger seat. They were attempting to leave the supply yard (with) pieces of high voltage cables in the truck bed. A lawful inventory search of the vehicle revealed battery-powered cable cutters, a bag labeled “PROPERTY OF US GOV containing gloves and power tool batteries, a black cloth mask located in the driver’s side area, the defendant’s wallet and cellular phone, amongst other items, the file stated.

In the 2020 and 2021 crimes, court records state Gunter received money from the Paycheck Protection Program through loans established to provide economic relief in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Loans were processed and funded through service providers and third-party financial institutions, with forgiveness and backing of the loans provided by the Small Business Administration. From May 8 to 10, 2020, the defendant submitted five PPP loan applications through PayPal, and their subsidiary Swift Capital, for his alleged sole proprietorship called Almount Gunters Cooking and Catering, also known as Almount Gunter’s Cook and Catering.

The business was alleged to be based out of his Ara Street, Norfolk address.

Sentencing was set for July. A hearing date for Giddens was not available. Gunter pleaded guilty to theft of government property and wire fraud. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of $1,250,000.