NORFOLK, Va. — A man who pointed a rifle at a family he didn't know and shot into a stranger's car in Norfolk in 2023 will serve more than 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to a hate crime, a judge ruled Friday.
Daniel Ferguson, 28, admitted to the incidents where he also yelled at minorities to "get off my land," and, when detained by police, told officers to let him go so he could "hunt and kill" minority groups, using racial epithets.
In court Friday, Ferguson asked for forgiveness from those people, saying he'd neglected his mental health and substance abuse problems and said he'd wanted to "die by cop."
Watch: Norfolk church vandalized with hateful messages
Earlier this week, Ferguson pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor brandishing, one count of misdemeanor hate crime assault, one count of felony attempted malicious wounding, and one count of felony shooting into an occupied vehicle.
The Commonwealth likened him to a mass shooter, with "serious red flags." The judge's ruling took that into consideration and gave Ferguson a longer-than-typical sentence.
“Hate has no home in Norfolk, and those who commit hate crimes will face serious consequences in our courts,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Virginia’s Red Flag law helped us protect our community up front, as did our determination to have Mr. Ferguson held as a danger to the community."
News 3's Erika Craven will have more on this story later today.
