NORFOLK, Va. — Tyshawn Gray, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting and wounding four people, including a Norfolk deputy, outside of Legacy Lounge in 2022 and will serve 17 years in prison.
In the early morning of Aug. 5, 2022, Gray was out with a group of friends at Legacy on East Plume Street.
A fight broke out between Gray's party and another group of patrons, and Gray was pulled out of by the back of his shirt by club security.
The Commonwealth's Attorney said that after he was separated from the fight, Gray stood up and walked out of the nightclub, then a surveillance video from a nearby building showed Gray walking to his truck that was parked around the corner of Plume and Atlantic streets and getting his .380 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol.
As Gray was grabbing his weapon, club security began closing and clearing out patrons in Legacy. A crowd formed outside on the sidewalk, and the Commonwealth's Attorney says there were isolated scuffles were happening where people were gathered.
Norfolk police patrol officers and sheriff's deputies were present to help with crowd control.
After getting his gun, Gray walked back to the corner of Plume and Atlantic streets where he stood and fired all eight rounds in his magazine into the crowd that was still gathered in front of Legacy, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney.
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Four people were wounded, including Norfolk Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Moore, who was shot in his left shin, two active-duty US Navy sailors, one shot in his right knee and one shot in his left shoulder, and one of Gray's friends who had been with him at Legacy that night, who was shot in his left arm.
No one was killed, but the Commonwealth's Attorney stated that Gray's friend that was shot later died from unrelated circumstances.
After firing into the crowd, Gray turned around and walked back to his truck as officers and deputies, including the deputy that had been shot, ran in his direction.
Officers detained Gray and seized his gun from the waistband of his pants. The Commonwealth's Attorney said the slide on Gray's gun was locked back, meaning he had run out of ammunition while firing.
Forensic investigators collected eight cartridge casings from the scene, and ballistics testing confirmed that the casings matched Gray's gun.
Norfolk police also served a search warrant on Gray's truck and found a gun safe and additional matching ammunition. Gray's blood alcohol concentration, which was taken 70 minutes after the shooting, was .10.
Gray was set to stand trial by jury beginning on Thursday, but on Tuesday Gray pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count of using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding.
The judge accepted Gray's plea with an agreed sentence of 17 active years in prison and 21 additional years suspended on the conditions that Gray complete three years of supervised probation and 10 years of uniform good behavior, have no unauthorized contact with the victims, and not possess a firearm for 10 years following his release.
The Commonwealth's Attorney said the sentence is above the high-end of Gray's sentencing guidelines.
"Mr. Gray's crimes were as unnecessary as they were violent, and given the seriousness of the case, I chose to prosecute the case personally and to be ready to go to trial," said Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. "We are fortunate that the victims in this case all lived and that there were only four victims and not eight. This case is yet another warning to us all: Do not mix guns with alcohol. Do not abuse your gun rights. Do not commit senseless violence. Your actions can have negative consequences for a whole city. If you do commit violence, we have no choice but to seek a significant prison sentence, as we have done today."
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