HAMPTON, Va. - During a preliminary hearing on Thursday, two police officers involved in a shootout with a man testified about the dramatic moments.
A judge ruled there is enough evidence for the cases against James Gregory, Allen Ralph, and Leonard Morrison to move forward.
The incident all began last June when witnesses testified Gregory and Morrison robbed a GameStop at Hampton Towne Center. An employee said Gregory came into the store with a gun and said, "You know what this is."
Next, the employee testified Gregory ordered customers in the store onto the ground. Then, Gregory and Morrison robbed the safe and some video games. One of the customers said he couldn't stop crying, fearing for his and his fiancee's lives.
Someone outside the store recognized something appeared to be wrong and called police. Officers arrived on scene at about 2:30 pm on June 12 and realized Morrison and Gregory escaped through the backdoor of the GameStop.
An officer testified that he saw Morrison and Gregory and chased them on foot onto 64 and then back into the parking of the AMC Movie Theater. As the officer was trying to catch up to them, a police lieutenant encountered the two trying to get into a silver car.
The lieutenant testified he commanded them to stop, including Allen Ralph, the get-away driver. The lieutenant says all but Morrison complied.
As the lieutenant tried to get Morrison under control, he says his knee gave out and he tore his ACL. Because of that, he says Morrison was able to get control of his gun. Around that time, the other officer caught up to them. "Shoot him! Shoot him!" the lieutenant says he told the officer about Morrison.
The officer says he told Morrison to drop the gun, but he didn't. Then, gunshots erupted. The lieutenant testified he was shot in the chest, but his bullet proof vest saved him from more serious injury.
The other officer said he fired 14 times until he saw Morrison go down and even ran out of bullets. He said the sound of gun running out of ammo was the "scariest sound when you're in a gun fight."
All three of them were then arrested. Morrison is now in a wheelchair and faces the most serious charges, including attempted capital murder.
Additionally, Morrison and Gregory are charged in the murder of two Virginia Beach fathers. Detectives have also linked the incident in Hampton to a robbery of a Chesapeake GameStop.
