VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - One of four men charged after numerous firearms were found in a car during a Salem High School football game last fall faced a judge Wednesday in a Virginia Beach courtroom.
19-year-old Hasan M. Washington pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm on school property, a class six felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
According to a stipulation of facts signed at Wednesday's hearing, on September 17, 2021, Virginia Beach police officers were conducting a "firearms interdiction operation" at Salem High School when they spotted "visibly loaded handguns" inside a Volkswagen Passat registered under Washington's name.
The officers conducted surveillance of the vehicle until Washington and two others returned to the car, when they moved in and detained the group.
When police searched the Passat, they found three handguns in the glove box, two handguns in the backseat, and an "AK-style Micro-Draco" in the trunk. All the firearms were loaded and three of them were listed as stolen, according to court paperwork. Washington acknowledged the car and one Glock 23 in the glove compartment belonged to him, but told police he didn't know who the other two individuals in his car were, prosecutors said. Washington was a senior in high school at the time of his arrest and was released on a $1,000 secured bond.
Jeremy Mason, the Norfolk-based attorney representing Washington, told News 3 this is the 19-year-old's first time being in trouble with the law. Mason noted in court today that he plans to ask the judge to take the matter under advisement at the sentencing hearing. If the judge agrees, the charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor if Washington complies with the conditions set by the court, Mason said.
Three others were charged in connection with the incident.
Dameron S. Wright, a 19-year-old from Newport News, is currently behind bars in Norfolk pending trial on numerous felonies in connection with two separate home invasion robberies in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, one of which involved a woman allegedly being raped and forced into a dog cage. Wright's charges stemming from the incident at Salem High were later withdrawn because there was insufficient evidence to prove his knowledge there were firearms in the car, a spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office told News 3.
Shaquille R. Felton, a 30-year-old Norfolk man, pleaded guilty to two felony counts in November 2021 and received a four-year sentence, all but two months of which were suspended, according to state court records. Felton was also placed on indefinite supervision.
Julian G. Bryant, a 30-year-old from Virginia Beach, was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon last November and received a two-day jail sentence, court records show.
Washington remains on bail pending his sentencing hearing, which is currently scheduled for November 15.
