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Police: Customer who shot, killed Virginia Beach robbery suspect will not face charges

Posted at 11:24 AM, Aug 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-01 11:31:10-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Police will not be filing criminal charges against the customer who shot and killed a Virginia Beach robbery suspect on July 25 at a 7-Eleven in the city.

The customer, who was in the store at the time of the robbery, shot two of the men suspected of robbing multiple convenience stores in the Hampton Roads area. One of the two men shot was only injured.

Police said they reviewed the shooting and could not find just cause to charge him criminally. Other customers in the store at the time of the shooting called the man a “hero” when News 3 spoke with them outside of the crime scene at the 7-Eleven on 100 block of S. Newtown Road.

Ronald Lee Brookins Jr., 18, and  Deric Breon Simmons, 19, are the two suspects who have been charged. A third alleged robber, 18-year-old Michael Moore, was the suspect killed by the customer.

Brookins told a judge Friday that he is active duty Navy.  He is charged with two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, abduction and wearing a mask in public.

Simmons has been charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Norfolk and Newport News Police say they have linked the men to robberies at three other 7-Elevens that were also targeted within the same time frame.

Portsmouth and Suffolk Police say they are looking into the possibility that Simmons and Brookins are responsible for similar unsolved crimes in their cities.

Brookins and Simmons are being held in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center without bond.

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