A 20-year-old man recently convicted of a felony drug charge in Williamsburg is accused of new crimes in James City, police say.
Devonta Leonard Nazareth is accused of fleeing when a police officer tried to stop him in a car on Sept. 23, James City County Police Department spokeswoman Stephanie Williams wrote in an email.
Police say Nazareth initially stopped the car at a house on Rochambeau Drive, but fled when a uniformed officer approached him. He drove the car through the yard of the house and onto Croaker Road, near Fenton Mill Road and Cedar Point Lane, where he crashed into a pickup truck, Williams wrote.
Nazareth continued onto Cedar Point and fled into the woods on foot. When Police searched his car they found a loaded revolver, Williams wrote.
Nazareth was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; eluding police; failing to stop for a traffic accident; and driving a motor vehicle while his license is revoked. He is scheduled to appear in Williamsburg-James General District Court on Oct. 11.
The charges come a little more a month after Nazareth pleaded guilty to marijuana distribution in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court on Aug. 12. He was sentenced to four months of jail time, to serve on weekends, and 10 years of supervised probation, according to the Virginia Courts Case Information data base.
Nazareth got that charge, and two others, on March 1 when police say they found a gun and marijuana in his car, said Maj. Greg Riley of the Williamsburg Police Department.
Two of the three March Williamsburg charges – possession of a firearm and gang participation — were nolle prossed, the data base shows.
When a charge is nolle prossed prosecutors agree not to pursue it unless they find new evidence.
Nazareth was also in York General District Court on July 27 for a marijuana possession charge. A judge decided to withhold a decision in Nazareth’s case until July 14, 2017, according to the General District Court Online Case Information System.
Because of the new charges in James City County, Nazareth is also charged with violation of good behavior in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 12.
Mayfield can be reached at 352-431-9612.
