VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An Atlanta man pleaded guilty Monday to making threats against multiple Walmart locations in the days following the 2022 mass shooting at a Chesapeake store, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
DeAndre Murphy, 30, pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from Nov. 25, 2022 — Black Friday — when the DOJ says he called two Walmart stores in Virginia Beach and told them he had gunmen prepared to enter the stores. While falsely identifying himself as "Mohammed," officials say he claimed the gunmen would "start shooting people" unless the stores paid him $20,000.
Investigators managed to trace the second call made back to Murphy, the DOJ said.
The 30-year-old is slated to be sentenced on September 27, when he will face a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
Six store employees — Tyneka Johnson, Brian Pendleton, Randy Blevins, Kellie Pyle, Lorenzo Gamble and Fernando Chavez-Barron — lost their lives in the Chesapeake mass shooting. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Walmart, claiming negligence.
