Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Armed Robber Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 33 years in prison for conspiring to rob five Tidewater businesses at gun-point.
Olandjuwan Beale, 21, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and two counts of possession, use and brandishing a firearm in crime of violence on August 3. According to court documents, Beale and two co-defendants planned and executed five commercial robberies in Newport News and Hampton, using firearms in each, over a 10-hour period on March 6, robbing a Newport News 7-Eleven, 1st Stop Mart, Luckie’s Convenience Store and Mary’s Deli and Convenience Store, as well as a 1st Stop Mart in Hampton. In each robbery, Beale approached the clerks and ordered them to provide cash. By the last robbery in Hampton, Beale also robbed customers in the store. Beale was arrested after a concerned citizen photographed the license plate of the vehicle the men used to flee the final robbery and forwarded the information to the Hampton Police Division.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, and Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-50.
###