Three criminal cases heard in Northampton Court Monday

By Linda Cicoira

An Exmore man was sentenced Monday in Northampton Circuit Court to five years in prison for a third offense of felony assault and battery of a household member stemming from an incident last September.

All but two years and two months of the sentence were suspended for 32-year-old Erick Emanuel Ferguson, of Frederick Douglass Road. Upon his release, he will be placed on two years of supervised probation and five years of good behavior.

At trial, defense attorney Andre Wiggins said his client is taking medication and “looks forward to bettering himself.”

In another case, 24-year-old John Anthony Baker, of Sparrows Point, Maryland, pleaded guilty to hit-and-run involving property damage of more than $1,000. The incident occurred June 14, 2025, in the Cape Charles area. Sentencing is scheduled for July 6.

Twenty-six-year-old Ali Muhammed Sanoh, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but one year and six months suspended, for eluding police at speeds of up to 137 mph on Sept. 5, 2025. The pursuit began in Exmore, continued to Parksley, and ended in a crash. Sanoh will serve two years of supervised probation.

“I’m sorry for my actions,” Sanoh said. “I put the officers who were chasing me and myself at risk … I’m looking forward to coming home and being a better citizen.”

Defense attorney Richard Phillips said, “I think he’s a good human, and I think he’s learned his lesson.”

Fifty-year-old Ian Christopher Colson, of Simpkins Drive in Cape Charles, was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but six months suspended, for a third offense of driving while intoxicated within 10 years in connection with a July 5, 2025, incident. Ninety days of the sentence was the mandatory minimum. He will be on supervised probation for two years and good behavior for five years.

Twenty-one-year-old Inaya I. Finney, of Accomac, pleaded no contest to destroying more than $2,000 worth of property on Aug. 25, 2025. Sentencing was deferred for one year, and she was ordered to make restitution. The maximum penalty for the offense is five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

Forty-one-year-old Jynell Lekita Williams, also known as Hershinna Fryar, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to attempting to utter fraudulent checks in December 2025 and providing a false identity to a law enforcement officer. She was ordered not to enter any Atlantic Union Bank location. A short-form pre-sentence report was ordered, and sentencing is set for July 6.

Twenty-seven-year-old Diaqwain J. Walker, of Franktown, was sentenced to three years in prison, with all but time served suspended, for possession of fentanyl on Jan. 31. He will be on supervised probation for two years and good behavior for five years.