NORFOLK, Va. — After six hours of deliberation following a four-day trial, a jury found a Norfolk man guilty on Friday of murdering a retired city police sergeant during the armed burglary of his home last year.
According to a news release from the city's Commonwealth's Attorney's office, 21-year-old Xavier Hudspeth was found guilty of second-degree murder, the use of a firearm in the commission of murder, the use of a firearm in the commission of aggravated malicious wounding, armed statutory burglary, conspiring to commit armed statutory burglary, and conspiring to commit the larceny of firearms.
Prosecutors say Hudspeth, as the employee of a cleaning company, had been hired twice to clean the home of 83-year-old former Norfolk Police Sergeant William Moore. They say that's when Hudspeth came up with a plot to steal Moore's collection of firearms.
During the trial, Hudspeth's co-defendant, 21-year-old Andra Brown, testified that Hudspeth recruited him to help with the robbery because Moore and his adult daughter who also lived at the home, wouldn't recognize him.
The two men went to Moore's home at night on February 28, 2022. Brown knocked on the door and then shot Moore in the head and chest, killing him when he opened the door, according to the release. Brown is also accused of shooting the daughter in the face before rummaging through her father's belongings and running out the back door.
Both men were taken into custody by arriving Norfolk police officers who responded to a 911 call from the daughter.
The daughter, who fell to the floor and played dead after being shot, testified at the trial that she heard a familiar voice say, "Dude, what did you do?" during the robbery.
While recovering from her injuries in the hospital, the daughter told her sister that she realized the voice belonged to "the cleaning guy," prosecutors said.
Hudspeth and Brown were both indicted by a grand jury in August 2022 for crimes related to the fatal home invasion. Hudspeth was also indicted for the larceny of a firearm from Moore’s home that occurred a month before.
In November 2022, Brown pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, the use of a firearm, and conspiring to commit the larceny of firearms. He is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 6.
Hudspeth will appear for a sentencing hearing on Dec. 1.
“William Moore gave his career to our City and deserved to live the rest of his life in peace,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in a press release. “He and his family had hired Mr. Hudspeth to help take care of them, and Mr. Hudspeth broke that trust in the worst way."
"The defendants in this case killed him in his own home and nearly killed his daughter, all for greed," Fatehi said. "Mr. Brown has admitted his guilt. The jury has convicted Mr. Hudspeth. We now will advocate for a sentence that holds them accountable for what they have done.”
Richard Seeloff lived near Moore and knew him for close to 40 years. Seeloff remembers Moore as a generous and good man.
"What happened to him was a shame. It was just totally undeserved the man had to die that way," said Seeloff. "Now, we have closure on that, and so it just gives us peace of mind in the neighborhood."
In response to an inquiry from 13News Now, the Norfolk Police Department released the following statement in regard to Hudspeth's conviction: "The Norfolk Police Department is grateful to all the Officers and Investigators who worked this case, as well as our partners at the Office of the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney for the role each of them had in bringing justice to Ret. Sgt. W.I Moore and his family."