One of four men accused of breaking into a James City County apartment, robbing its occupants and shooting a man had no intention of harming anyone the night he stormed the home, a prosecutor said.
Devonte J. Hayes, 22, pleaded guilty in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Friday to four felony counts that come with a possible sentence of two lifetimes plus six years in prison.
In a retelling of the incident, Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth Michael Gaten said the four suspects — Hayes, 22-year-old Christopher Allen Williams, 22-year-old Marklin Antonio Mitchell and 21-year-old D’Andre Andrews Hardy — decided they were going to rob a man who sold them marijuana after seeing a photo of him “flashing money” on Facebook.
Gaten said had Hayes gone to trial, witnesses and victims at the scene would have testified they were in the apartment around 9 p.m. Jan. 4 when they heard a “loud boom” and saw the door to the apartment “fly open.”
Four men wearing black gloves and blue bandannas or black ski masks over their faces entered the apartment, with one man holding a shotgun later found to belong to Mitchell, Gaten said.
Seven people ranging in age from 16 to 22 years old and two children — a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old — were in the apartment at the time.
Gaten said one woman would have testified she heard what sounded like fighting and tussling, then heard one of the apartment occupants say “please don’t shoot me” followed by the sound of a gun going off.
The three co-defendants later told investigators Hayes was the shooter, but “the plan was to rob the victim and not hurt anyone,” Gaten said.
The three others described Hayes as “hysterical” after the shooting, describing how he punched a hole in the wall, Gaten said.
Police said the then-20-year-old man was shot in the neck and upper arm. He was flown by helicopter and taken to MCV Hospital for surgery and fully recovered.
The woman at the apartment was able to call 911 from her cell phone, which she had hidden in the couch seat cushion, Gaten said.
The man in the Facebook photo who lived at the apartment and sold marijuana to the alleged home invaders hid in the bedroom closet during the incident, Gaten said.
He owned a .22 caliber handgun that was hidden in a kitchen drawer, Gaten said. After the four men fled the residence, he discovered the gun was missing, along with his Xbox 360 and several video games and CDs.
Cell phones and wallets were also taken from the occupants, Gaten said.
Police later discovered the handgun in the getaway car, a 2003 gold Ford Taurus belonging to Hardy. They also found a blue bandanna tied in a knot, a black ski mask and the Mossberg shotgun in the trunk, Gaten said.
An anonymous witness tipped officers of four men getting out of the gold Taurus in front of the apartment, and officers followed the car to a house on Algonquin Trail in Grove then to the 7-Eleven on Pocahontas Trail, where they arrested Hayes, who was driving the car, and Mitchell, who was in the passenger seat.
Officers then went back to the Algonquin Trail home, where they arrested Hardy and Williams. They also found a trash can that was “smoldering” and contained two burnt cell phones, a burnt bandana and a black ski mask with the shooting victim’s blood on the outside and Hayes’ DNA on the inside, Gaten said.
In pleading guilty, six counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, three counts of abduction, one count of malicious wounding and two counts of armed robbery were dropped against Hayes.
A grand jury dismissed a first-degree murder charge in connection with the incident in March.
Hayes faces one life sentence apiece for the felony counts of breaking and entering and armed robbery. The two uses of a firearm in the commission of a felony come with a mandatory three-year active sentence each.
He will be sentenced at 9 a.m. May 22. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors have capped the amount of active prison time Hayes can receive at 17 years.
Williams entered an Alford plea — in which he admits there is enough evidence to be found guilty but does not admit to being guilty — for one charge of robbery, one charge of armed burglary and one charge of using a firearm in the commission of a felony in October.
He will be sentenced Jan. 28.
Mitchell and Hardy will both appear in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court on Monday. Mitchell entered a plea of not guilty in July, and Hardy is expected to enter a plea Monday.
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- People Inside JCC Apartment During Home Invasion, Shooting Share Details in Court
- Alleged JCC Home Invaders Offer Conflicting Stories
- JCC Man Shot in Saturday Home Invasion Off Longhill Road
