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Man sentenced to 45 Years for 2009 Newport News murder

Posted at 5:28 PM, Aug 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-07 09:05:52-04

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Mark Xavier Wallace, 37, was sentenced to 45-years in prison for his part in the murder of Louis Joseph Jr. in Newport News.

Mark Xavier Wallace

Wallace, along with co-defendants Joseph James Cain Benson and Bryan Lamar Brown, were convicted April 17, 2018, on charges stemming from the killing of Joseph.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Wallace recruited Benson, who traveled from Massachusetts to Virginia to help during the drug robbery.

During the robbery on March 19, 2009, Benson and another person entered the home and killed Joseph, who was shot multiple times, the Department of Justice said.

Benson was linked to the crime by DNA evidence found at the scene. Wallace, who was waiting in the car during the crime, left the scene following the shooting. After Joseph’s death, Brown got the murder weapons to New York, where they were recovered in an undercover operation.

The men were each convicted of use of a firearm resulting in death, and face a maximum penalty of life in prison.