Man Sentenced to More Than 1 Year for Eluding Police, Being Felon in Possession of Firearm After Driving Away From Traffic Stop in 2022

NORFOLK, Va. — Lamont Lyman Malone, 44, was sentenced on Tuesday, Oct. 8, to serve one year and four months in prison for eluding police and being a felon in possession of a firearm after he drove recklessly on the interstate and city streets and crashed his car, in which he left behind a gun that he was not legally allowed to have.

On Nov. 17, 2022, Mr. Malone was driving at a high rate of speed westbound on Interstate 64 and making unsafe lane changes. A Virginia State Police trooper pulled Mr. Malone over near the Granby Street exit, and Mr. Malone initially cooperated by providing his identification information to the trooper. Mr. Malone claimed that he was enroute to a hospital in another city to attend a childbirth and informed the trooper that he was on probation. The trooper ran Mr. Malone’s information and saw that Mr. Malone had outstanding warrants out of a different city. As the trooper was gathering this information at his patrol car, Mr. Malone drove off.

Mr. Malone continued driving off the interstate onto Granby Street, accelerated at a high rate of speed, passed multiple vehicles by driving off the road onto grassy areas, made multiple other unsafe lane changes, and ran a red light at the intersection with Bayview Boulevard. The trooper initially pursued Mr. Malone, but he called off the pursuit due to high traffic and instead slowly canvassed the area. Soon after, the trooper saw Mr. Malone’s vehicle crashed into a tree in the median at the intersection of Granby Street and Dupre Avenue. The driver’s door was open, and a witness told the trooper that Mr. Malone had taken off running. The trooper searched the abandoned vehicle and found a firearm in the center console. Mr. Malone has a history of felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Mr. Malone entered an agreement on Oct. 8 to plead guilty to felony eluding and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The plea agreement called for Mr. Malone to serve one year and four months in prison and have another three years and eight months suspended conditioned on Mr. Malone completing two years of uniform good behavior. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Mr. Malone’s plea agreement and sentenced him per the agreement.

“Mr. Malone endangered himself, the trooper, and everyone around him by eluding the police, and Mr. Malone should never have been in possession of a gun,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We will continue to hold accountable people who possess weapons illegally and who endanger the people around them.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tara S. Terwilliger negotiated Mr. Malone’s plea agreement on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Virginia State Trooper Jeffrey S. Keeney led the investigation.

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