A Portsmouth man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for fatally shooting a 20-year-old after attempting to rob him of Percocet pills.
Javon Lamonte Pollard, 21, pleaded guilty in October to first-degree murder, attempted robbery, conspiracy, two counts of use of a firearm and hit and run.
Pollard was 19 when he and a friend, Aarion Hopkins, met Keyshawn Woodhouse at his Virginia Beach residence on September 30, 2024, according to court records.
Pollard and Hopkins, cell phone records showed, had been exchanging messages that morning, planning to pretend to do a drug deal and then to rob the person selling them the drug.
The three were discussing how much Woodhouse was asking for a sale of Percocet pills when Hopkins stepped aside and crouched down and Pollard drew a gun on Woodhouse, according to a statement of facts attached to Pollard’s guilty plea.
The interaction, including audio, was captured by doorbell camera footage. Pollard told Woodhouse to give him the pills. But as Woodhouse attempted to retreat back into the home, Pollard shot him four times.
He then fled from the house in a burgundy sedan and ran a stop sign, crashing into another car and injuring its driver, according to his guilty plea. Portsmouth police later arrested Pollard at his home.
Hopkins was found guilty on January 26 by a jury of first degree murder, attempted robbery, conspiracy and two counts of use of a firearm for his role in the fatal robbery. He will be sentenced on May 4.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/02/24/man-sentenced-to-40-years-in-fatal-virginia-beach-robbery/
