Virginia Beach, Va.–Jordan Ceprece Anderson, 20, was sentenced on Friday to 28 years after officials say he tried to rob two plainclothes officers in a McDonald’s parking lot.
He was convicted of one count each conspiracy, attempted robbery, use of a firearm and wearing a mask in public. Eighteen years of his sentence was suspended conditioned upon indefinite supervised probation, 10 years good behavior and no contact with the co-defendants.
Officials say on April 23, 2012, officers with the Norfolk Police Department Vice and Narcotics Division were sitting in the driver’s seats of separate unmarked city cars in the McDonald’s parking lot at the intersection of Indian River and Campostella Roads in Norfolk.
They say the officers spotted a suspicious car that slowly circled through the parking lot.
Anderson walked up from behind to the passenger side of one of the unmarked cars while another man, Devonte Davis, walked up from behind to the driver’s side of the other unmarked vehicle.
According to officials, Anderson tapped on the passenger window of the car with a gun, pointed it at the officer and demanded his property.
One of the officers then pulled out his gun and shot through the window several times.
The other officer jumped out of his vehicle and spotted Davis standing near him. Davis pointed a gun at the officer and said, “Give it up.”
Next, the officer pointed his gun at Davis, who then cursed and took off. Anderson also ran away.
Officials say as the two men ran, one of them looked back and lifted his arm with the gun. One of the officers then fired his gun twice.
Police detained three of the suspects in a nearby getaway car and Anderson was captured later after he went to the hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound.
Police say they found a loaded pistol and a bandana. Police also found an inoperable .32 pistol that had been discarded by Anderson.
Officials say Anderson confessed after he was released from the hospital.
Police learned that the men decided to rob the two victims when they had driven through the McDonald’s parking lot and had seen the officers’ parked cars.
They thought the plainclothes officers were private citizens who were conducting or attempting to conduct a drug transaction.
Anderson was on probation for a 2011 robbery conviction when this crime occurred.
