Man Convicted of Stealing From Norfolk Dollar Tree After DNA Match From Blood at Scene

NORFOLK, Va. – Kenneth Chatman Sr., 52, pleaded guilty on Thursday to felony destruction of property and misdemeanor trespassing for breaking into a Norfolk Dollar Tree store.

Around 1 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2022, Mr. Chatman broke the front window of the Dollar Tree store at Wards Corner, climbed into the store through the window, and stole items from the store office. Mr. Chatman got away that night, but he cut himself when he broke the window, and Norfolk Police investigators found Mr. Chatman’s fresh blood on broken glass at the scene. The police were able to identify Mr. Chatman as a suspect and found Mr. Chatman, who agreed to give a DNA sample to the police. Testing at the Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences matched Mr. Chatman’s DNA sample to the blood he had left at the store.

Mr. Chatman pleaded guilty earlier today to felony destruction of property and misdemeanor trespassing. In exchange for Mr. Chatman’s promise to plead guilty, prosecutors had earlier agreed not to pursue a charge of felony burglary and misdemeanor larceny. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Chatman’s plea agreement, which leaves Mr. Chatman’s sentence up to the court.

“Good police work led to Mr. Chatman’s arrest and conviction,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While forensics cannot solve all crimes all the time, they made the difference here and led to Mr. Chatman’s guilty plea. We will seek an appropriate sentence of confinement for Mr. Chatman when the time comes.”

Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordon C. Ufkes is prosecuting Mr. Chatman’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Kevin M. Gross led the investigation.

###