Young man gets 7 months of active time for driveby

By Linda Cicoira

A 20-year-old Accomack man was sentenced Tuesday in Northampton Circuit Court to a total of 40 years in prison for four counts of shooting at occupied dwellings in a New Roads neighborhood in Exmore two years ago.

All but seven months of the terms were suspended for Khamauri Khalil Rogers, of Savageville Road, near Onancock. Officials agreed that the defendant had already served the active time.

Rogers did not fire a gun during the incident. As a felon, he would now be prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was 18 years old when he drove the vehicle during the May 2023 drive-by incident that had six victims and involved four houses near or on Ruth Wise and Frederick Douglass roads. One of the bullets went into a child’s bedroom. No one was injured.

Judge Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. listened to both Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton and defense lawyer Sharri Mapp-Jones.

The judge then said, “There is some sort of consensus that he was the driver and was influenced by others. The court is going to go out on a limb here. You are going to have a lot of suspended time” hanging over your head. “If someone had been struck by one of those bullets,” the outcome would have been different. “I certainly hope that they find the people who were riding in that car with you, because they’re going to have a bad day.”

Thornton said the case is continuing to be investigated. Since being charged, Rogers got a job, stayed out of trouble, and “he does not have an extensive criminal history. “This young man, who committed a pretty dangerous crime, has proven himself in the last couple of months,” the prosecutor added.

At the trial, Thornton said, the primary concern was the possible link to gang activity. “The commonwealth sincerely hopes that this incident has gotten Mr. Rogers’ attention and he continues to be a protective member of society.”

Mapp-Jones argued that her client was “barely an adult, not long from being a juvenile,” when the crimes occurred. “He was incarcerated for a year. Once he was released, he got a job, supported his family, and met with pretrial services … He did some community service. He put himself in a better situation. He went to CSB because he thought that would help him, even though he doesn’t have a diagnosis. We don’t want to break something that is working,” she said. “I think he learned his lesson.”

Evidence at the trial showed a round came through the wall at one residence and went into the ceiling. At another house, a round went through the bedroom window of the owner’s son while he was sleeping at around 3 a.m. and landed in a doorframe.