NOROFLK, Va. — A 16-year-old has been convicted of second-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of a man in West Ocean View.
The 16-year-old pleaded guilty and is to be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice as a serious offender until they are 21, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. They also received a suspended prison sentence of 20 years on the condition that they complete the serious offender program and 20 years of good behavior.
Attorneys say that on July 18, 2021, 47-year-old Glenn Bryant Kreps was visiting friends on A View Avenue when he exchanged words with the then 14-year-old who was walking down the street. They also say that the two knew each other from an earlier incident.
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Kreps left an apartment nearby, argued with and followed the teen for a short while, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
The teen then shot him multiple times, according to attorneys. After being shot, Kreps went back to the apartment and ultimately died.
“Children can do serious and violent things, but science shows that children are incapable of controlling their impulses in the same way as adults until about the age of 25,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi in a release about the conviction. "We have held this child accountable in a way appropriate to his age, prioritizing rehabilitation and with a suspended sentence in case, as an adult, this child takes the wrong path. I will continue to hold children appropriately accountable without repeating the mistakes of the past.”
