Man Sentenced to More Than 1 Year for Brandishing Gun at Next-Door Neighbor

NORFOLK, Va. – Jeremy Davis Morrin, 32, was sentenced on Friday to one year and three months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for brandishing his weapon at his next-door neighbor over their barking dog.

In the early evening of Dec. 29, 2022, Mr. Morrin had an altercation with his neighbor outside their homes on Kansas Avenue over the neighbor’s barking dog. Mr. Morrin then went inside his house, came back out with a gun, pulled back the slide of the gun as if to load a cartridge into the chamber, and pointed the weapon at his neighbor. Norfolk Police officers responded to Mr. Morrin’s home, Mr. Morrin admitted to having a gun, and he gave permission to officers to search his home and retrieve the firearm. When officers conducted a criminal record check on Mr. Morrin, they saw that he is a previously convicted felon who is barred from possessing a firearm.

On Nov. 22, 2023, Mr. Morrin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and brandishing a firearm, and Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted his plea with no agreement to his sentencing. On Friday, Judge Rigney sentenced Mr. Morrin to one year and three months in prison, with another two years and three months suspended on the conditions that Mr. Morrin complete one year of supervised probation and two years of uniform good behavior following his release.

“As a convicted felon, Mr. Morrin should not have even touched a gun, let alone used one to threaten his neighbor,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “A barking dog is no reason to threaten someone with a gun. Mr. Morrin’s dangerous conduct is why he must serve a prison sentence.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney James S. Strickland prosecuted Mr. Morrin’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth.

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