NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk jury convicted 27-year-old Zhari Vaughan on Thursday of being a violent felon in possession of a firearm after Mr. Vaughan was caught with a gun during a traffic stop last fall.
On Oct. 21, 2022, Norfolk Police officers initiated a traffic stop for a speeding vehicle. Mr. Vaughan, who was in the passenger seat of the car, fled on foot after the vehicle pulled over on the 300 block of Warren Street in the Talbot Park neighborhood. Officers witnessed Mr. Vaughn dropping a black object, later identified as a handgun, on the ground before he ran off.
Mr. Vaughan is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to 2014 Norfolk convictions of abduction, robbery, and the use of a firearm in the commission of those felonies. Mr. Vaughan was also convicted in Norfolk in 2019 of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and he faces a violation of probation for his 2014 convictions.
Mr. Vaughan is docketed for sentencing on June 16.
Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordon C. Ufkes prosecuted Mr. Vaughan’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
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