NORFOLK, Va. – On Wednesday, a Norfolk Circuit Court judge sentenced 30-year-old Rashad Detwan Dooley to five suspended years in prison for his failure to appear in court during his trial regarding the 2011 shooting death of Christopher Cummings.
A Norfolk jury convicted Mr. Dooley on Sept. 14, 2022, of conspiring to commit first-degree murder, conspiring to commit robbery, and conspiring to commit burglary. Shortly before the jury returned their guilty verdicts, Mr. Dooley left the Norfolk courthouse and did not return. Mr. Dooley was arrested on Sept. 29 at a Chesapeake restaurant. The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office initiated a direct indictment against Mr. Dooley for felony failure to appear on Oct. 5, and a Norfolk grand jury certified the charge.
Mr. Dooley pleaded guilty to failure to appear on Wednesday, what would have been the first day of his scheduled jury trial to contest the charge. Judge Robert B. Rigney sentenced Mr. Dooley to five suspended years in prison conditioned upon Mr. Dooley's uniform good behavior throughout his 25-year active sentence for his conspiracy convictions as well as his completion of five years of supervised probation upon his release from prison.
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Cynthia D. Collard and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys Madeline C. Woodruff and Abigail L. Ottinger prosecuted Mr. Dooley's recent cases on behalf of the Commonwealth.
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