Man Found Guilty of Armed Robbery After Robbing Juvenile at Gunpoint, Being Arrested Wearing Victim’s Shoes

NORFOLK, Va. — Chortez Demarie Smith, 18, was found guilty on Wednesday of armed robbery after Mr. Smith and a group of others robbed a 16-year-old at gunpoint, and Mr. Smith was later caught wearing the victim’s sneakers.

On Sept. 17, the victim was walking in the Estabrook area near the corner of Krick Street and Kennon Avenue when Mr. Smith and three unidentified individuals drove past him in a car, got out of the car, and approached him. All of the individuals were armed with guns, and they demanded that the victim hand over his property or else they would hurt him. The victim complied and gave the individuals his headphones, smartphone, sneakers, hoodie, and gold chain necklace. Mr. Smith and the other individuals then got back in the car and drove away.

A bystander who witnessed the robbery offered the victim their phone so the victim could call 911, and they provided Norfolk Police with descriptions of the individuals from the group and their car. Investigators confirmed the type of car the group was using by seeing it on a nearby home’s doorbell camera footage. The victim also provided police with the serial number from the shoe box of the Air Jordan sneakers that Mr. Smith had taken.

Later on Sept. 17, Norfolk Police officers located the suspects’ car, and the officers turned on their patrol car’s lights and siren to pull it over. The driver of the car ignored the officers and continued driving but soon after crashed the car at the intersection of Grandy Avenue and Tait Terrace. Three men, including Mr. Smith, got out of the car to run away from the officers, and officers detained Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was wearing a pair of Air Jordan sneakers when he was taken into custody, and investigators determined the serial number of those sneakers matched that of the sneakers stolen from the victim. As a result of their investigation, Mr. Smith was charged with armed robbery and using a firearm in the commission of robbery.

Mr. Smith entered an agreement in lower court to waive his preliminary hearing, plead no contest, pursuant to the rule in North Carolina v. Alford, in Circuit Court to armed robbery, and face an active prison sentence of up to five years. In exchange for Mr. Smith’s guilty plea, the Commonwealth moved to dismiss his other charge. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Mr. Smith’s plea agreement, found him guilty, and set his sentencing hearing on March 7, 2025.

“Mr. Smith and the other people involved in this robbery scared and threatened the victim, and he will now face a prison sentence for what he has done,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While the evidence against Mr. Smith was circumstantial, it was enough, and it shows how victim cooperation, technology, and good police work help to hold someone accountable for their crimes.” 

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney M. Colston Jones is prosecuting Mr. Smith’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Cody W. Morgan led the investigation.

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