Man Convicted of Eluding in Stolen Vehicle While Carrying Concealed, Loaded Handguns After Leading Police on Chase

NORFOLK, Va. – Jordan Miguel Richardson, 18, was convicted in Norfolk Circuit Court on Tuesday of carrying a concealed and loaded firearm, receiving stolen goods, and eluding police after being caught driving a stolen vehicle and wrecking it in a residential area earlier this year.

On May 12, 2023, a Norfolk Police officer saw a black Kia Optima, operated by Mr. Richardson, driving erratically in the 7800 block Shore Drive. The officer ran the vehicle’s tags through the Virginia Criminal Information Network and found that it had been reported stolen. As the officer was stopped at the same traffic light as Mr. Richardson, the two made eye contact with one another, and Mr. Richardson immediately covered his face with a medical mask and a hood. When the light turned green, the officer turned on his patrol car’s light and sirens to pull Mr. Richardson over, but Mr. Richardson took off at a high rate of speed down East Little Creek Road toward Azalea Garden Road. After making an incomplete U-turn to elude the officer, Mr. Richardson began driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of East Little Creek Road, and then Mr. Richardson sped through the North Camellia Acres and Camellia Gardens residential areas before wrecking the Kia at the intersection of Pace and Faber roads.

After the crash, Mr. Richardson exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The officer set up a perimeter around the neighborhood after observing Mr. Richardson hop multiple fences in residents’ yards. An arriving K9 unit tracked Mr. Richardson to a resident’s backyard, Mr. Richardson hopped more fences to elude the K9, and he was finally taken into custody after trying to hide in a recycling bin. Officers located two loaded semiautomatic handguns inside of Mr. Richardson’s backpack that he had discarded in one of the backyards.

On Monday, Mr. Richardson pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon (a felony for second and subsequent offenses), receiving a stolen vehicle, and eluding police. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. accepted his plea with no agreement to Mr. Richardson’s sentence. Mr. Richardson is docketed for sentencing on Jan. 5.

“Mr. Richardson committed multiple crimes, including making a situation worse by not pulling over when the police attempted to stop him,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Furthermore, the Second Amendment does not permit the carrying of weapons in unlawful ways. The illegal carrying of weapons is a danger to public safety, and we will seek a sentence appropriate to the seriousness of this case.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney J. Drew Fairbanks is prosecuting Mr. Richardson’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Johnson L. Freeman Jr. led the investigation.

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