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Hampton man sentenced for armed robbery, obstructing federal prosecution

Posted at 2:14 PM, Feb 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-23 14:14:34-05

Jesse Lockhart

HAMPTON, Va. – Jesse Lockhart was sentenced Friday to over 14 years in prison for armed robbery and obstruction of his federal prosecution, according to the Department of Justice.

According to court documents, Lockhard, 24, robbed a Hampton Exxon station at gunpoint.

During the robbery, he dropped a pack of cigarettes he had stolen from the store. Forensic technicians were able to get his left palm print from the cigarette package. The store clerk later picked Lockhart out of a photo line-up.

After his arrest, Lockhart and his mother, Germekia Lockhart, and his girlfriend Tamara Washington, falsified evidence in his case.

Lockhart, his mother and Washington agreed to get a replica airsoft gun and give it to federal authorities. Lockhart’s mother gave Washington a description of the gun used in the robbery.

Washington, a sheriff’s deputy, bought a look-alike airsoft pistol from the internet. She modified the gun so it would look real and gave it to Lockhart’s mother.

Federal agents picked up the gun from Lockhart’s mother only weeks before he was to be tried for the crimes.

Federal agents found out about the conspiracy after reviewing jail calls between the three of them and confronted Washington.

Washington and Germerkia Lockhart were sentenced to 27 months for their roles in the plan to obstruct justice.