NORFOLK, Va. — A man who walked out of a Norfolk courthouse right before a jury convicted him on charges related to a 2011 murder was sentenced Wednesday to five suspended years in prison for failure to appear in court.
Last September, a Norfolk jury convicted 30-year-old Rashad Dooley on multiple charges related to the 2011 murder of Christopher Cummings. Shortly before the jury returned their guilty verdicts, Dooley left the courthouse and did not return.
He was arrested about two weeks later at a Chesapeake restaurant and is currently serving a 25-year sentence for his conviction in the Cummings case.
The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney said Dooley pleaded guilty to the failure to appear charge on Wednesday and the five-year suspended sentence is conditional on Dooley's good behavior during his 25-year active sentence and five years of supervised probation following his release from prison.