Judge orders 30 years in prison for security guard who killed man playing Pokémon Go in Chesapeake
CHESAPEAKE VA June 25 2019
A former security guard will serve three decades in prison for fatally shooting a 60-year-old man in his minivan in River Walk in 2017.
Circuit Judge John Brown on Monday sentenced 24-year-old Johnathan Cromwell to 30 years behind bars, imposing the punishment jurors recommended earlier this year at Cromwell’s trial.
In a 10-day trial that ended in early March, a jury found Cromwell guilty of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the death of Jiansheng Chen. The maximum penalty jurors could have recommended was 43 years.
Chen was shot and killed on Jan. 26, 2017, after pulling his van into the driveway of the Riverwalk Clubhouse parking area in the 700 block of River Walk Parkway. Chen lived at his brother’s house in the neighborhood and had been playing “Pokemon Go” on his phone that night, according to prosecutors.
During the trial, Cromwell testified he shot Chen in self-defense. He had worked as a security guard for Citywide Protection Services for about two months at the time.
Following Monday’s sentencing, Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr said justice was served in the case. Parr said that even though nothing can relieve the pain endured by Chen’s family, “I hope this does bring some closure to them.”
Outside the courthouse, Cromwell’s defense attorney, Andrew Sacks, said they will appeal the case.
“We believe there are a number of very serious issues in this case that require appellate review,” said Sacks, who will continue to represent Cromwell.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors Lori Galbraith and D.J. Hansen asked the judge to impose the jury’s recommendation.
While prosecutors didn’t call any witnesses Monday, Galbraith recapped what Chen’s relatives said during the sentencing phase of Cromwell’s trial: how Chen’s death devastated them, how their lives were changed forever.
“He died for no reason,” Galbraith said.
Chen had two children and three grandchildren. He was like a second father to his nephews, relatives testified in March.
Galbraith said that while Cromwell didn’t have any prior convictions, there were inklings of problems. Cromwell was expelled in high school and he was terminated from a security job he held before he worked for Citywide, she said.
Sacks asked the judge to consider what he called “mitigating factors” in the case, including letters and testimony given by Cromwell’s relatives and supporters. He noted Cromwell’s age, his lack of prior record and pointed to a statement Cromwell gave police in which Sacks said he showed remorse.
Sacks called four people to testify Monday on Cromwell’s behalf.
For the past two years, supporters of the Chen family and relatives and friends of Cromwell’s have filled nearly every row in the courtroom for hearings. Monday was no different.
The Eastern Virginia Chinese American Association and the local chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans issued a joint statement Monday, saying they appreciate the work of the jury, the police department and prosecutors.
“This tragedy has no winner,” the written statement reads. “May God (comfort) both families.”
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