On May 8, 2023, co-conspirators rented a car for May 8 and 9 through Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform that allows users to rent cars from each other, to use to commit arrow key robberies. Ford recruited two other individuals, including a minor, to commit the robbery and conducted reconnaissance in Hampton before shifting the target to Norfolk. After identifying a target mail carrier on Ballentine Boulevard, they turned onto Davis Street, where two of the co-conspirators exited the car and the third drove it further down Davis. One of the conspirators (the minor) brandished a firearm and robbed the carrier of his arrow key and USPS identification card. Ford and the minor then fled back toward Davis Street where the third co-conspirator picked them up.<\/p>\n
After the robbery, Ford told his two co-conspirators that other co-conspirators did not want arrow keys from Norfolk, but asked them to participate in another robbery the following day in Newport News. The two had other commitments, though, and Ford recruited Jayden Stukes, 21, of Suffolk, to assist him in the robbery.<\/p>\n
Ford requested that Stukes drive him \u201cacross the water.\u201d Stukes agreed and informed Ford he would be with Da\u2019Twan Watson, 24, of Chesapeake, and that Watson was \u201ca lock.\u201d When Ford, Stukes, and Watson met at the rental car that Ford had used the previous day, they were unable to gain entry to the vehicle, so Stukes arranged for another of his friends to drive the group. Ford, Stukes, and Watson were all armed with handguns and wore masks that could cover their faces.<\/p>\n
After they crossed Hampton Roads, Ford diverted the car from the original destination, the downtown Newport News Post Office, and instead directed the vehicle around a light industrial-commercial area of Hampton. Ford and Watson exited the vehicle to continue hunting down the carrier on foot, and Stukes remained in the car with the driver and relayed details about the carrier\u2019s location.<\/p>\n
Watson and Ford encountered the carrier on Galax Street in Hampton. Only Ford was armed, but both he and Watson were fully masked as Watson approached from the side. Ford approached the carrier from Galax Street, brandished his firearm, and said, \u201cGive me your keys or I\u2019m gonna shoot you.\u201d He then repeated his demand and began counting down from five. The victim gave Ford his USPS arrow key. Ford and Watson then fled, eventually meeting with Stukes and the driver in an apartment complex nearby, before the driver drove the group back across the water.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 21, 2023, Ford pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 13, 2023, Watson pleaded guilty to interfering with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting. On April 18\u00a0he was sentenced to four years in prison<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Dec. 15, 2023, Stukes pleaded guilty to interfering with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting. On April 17 he\u00a0was sentenced to four years in prison<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ajay Lall, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service \u2013 Washington Division; Jimmie Wideman, Chief of Hampton Police; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes.<\/p>\n Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Podlesni and Mack Coleman prosecuted the case.<\/p>\n Read PEN’s previous coverage here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
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