NORFOLK, Va. — The last of 10 suspects involved in a string of grocery store robberies last year -- including one where a Harris Teeter manager was shot -- has been convicted on robbery and conspiracy charges.
A jury found 19-year-old Darrius Heuser-Whitaker guilty on Friday. According to evidence presented at his trial, Heuser-Whitaker was one of two masked gunmen who robbed a Food Lion and attempted to rob a Harris Teeter, both in Virginia Beach.
Nine other co-conspirators had already pleaded guilty to their roles in a series of robberies in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. They would work in at least six-man teams for each robbery, including lookouts both inside and outside, getaway drivers, and two gunmen. They'd use police scanners to monitor law enforcement activity and earpieces to speak with each other. The robbers would be in and out of the stores within minutes.
In the final attempted robbery at the Harris Teeter, the second gunman, Devonta Doyle, shot the manager after being unable to open the store safe.
The suspects fled the area and threw their shoes out of their getaway car near Regent University. Police and the FBI recovered the shoes and submitted them for evidence, one of which linked back to Heuser-Whitaker.
From there, investigators were able to link eight of the 10 suspects to a group of friends who attended Tallwood High School and lived in the College Park neighborhood of Virginia Beach.
Heuser-Whitaker faces a sentence of 17 years to life when he is sentenced on October 24. His nine co-conspirators have all pleaded guilty to various robbery and gun charges.
