NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News man who pleaded guilty to the unlawful purchase and possession of a firearm that was used in three shootings was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday.
Khalil Rashad Armstrong, 22, pleaded guilty to the charges in Nov. 2022.
Court documents show Armstrong, who was only 20 at the time, asked his cousin, Destiny Na’iymah Davis, 23, to buy a handgun. Armstrong, not being old enough to buy a gun, gave his cousin the money to purchase one and selected the make and model.
In Feb. 2021, Armstrong's cousin made false statements to a licensed firearm dealer in order to "straw-purchase" the firearm.
"The firearm was recovered by police on July 27, 2021, at the crime scene of a local rival gang shootout approximately 125 days after it was purchased," according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. "Forensic ballistics confirmed the firearm had been used in two other shootings, once on May 2, 2021, resulting in property damage, and once on February 21, 2021, the same day it was purchased."
Davis, who was also Armstrong's co-defendant, pleaded guilty on May 12, 2021, to a felony for her role in the unlawful purchase. In Dec. 2022, Davis was sentenced to 18 months probation.
