Man Sentenced to Nearly 2 Years for Eluding Norfolk Police in Stolen Car, Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

NORFOLK, Va. – Myles Stillman Benton, 23, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and nine months in prison for eluding police following a traffic stop last year and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Oct. 17, Mr. Benton was driving a Ford Fusion that had been reported stolen out of Spotsylvania County. A Norfolk Police officer noticed the vehicle while Mr. Benton was driving on Campostella Road, looked up the vehicle information, saw that it was reported stolen, and tried to initiate a traffic stop. Instead of stopping, Mr. Benton fled at a high rate of speed. The officer pursued Mr. Benton the length of the city, and Mr. Benton crashed the vehicle at a dead end on Sixth View Street. Responding officers recovered two firearms from the driver’s side of the Ford Fusion. Mr. Benton is a previously convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing a weapon.

Mr. Benton pleaded guilty on Wednesday to felony eluding and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted Mr. Benton’s plea with no agreement to his sentence. Following sentencing arguments from the prosecution and defense, Judge Rigney sentenced Mr. Benton to serve one year and nine months in prison and suspended an additional four years on the condition that Mr. Benton complete two years of uniform good behavior and supervised probation following his release.

“Once again, we see a person make his situation worse by fleeing from the police,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “By fleeing, Mr. Benton endangered himself and others and made his prison sentence longer. When the police turn on their lights, everyone must stop.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel G. Engel prosecuted Mr. Benton’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Officer Gareth A. Coleman led the investigation.

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