NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk man was sentenced to two and a half years after pleading guilty to charges stemming from two different robberies, the Office of Commonwealth's Attorney announced on Friday.
Caezar E. Gonzalez-Howard pleaded guilty to grand larceny and armed robbery.
Prosecutors said one of the robberies happened on August 26, 2022, when Gonzalez-Howard walked through the Home Depot on North Military Highway, took a rolling tote that he did not pay for, placed numerous tools in it, and left through the garden section exit. The store's loss prevention offer caught the theft on surveillance camera, which clearly showed Gonzalez-Howard as the suspect.
On September 10, 2022, Gonzalez-Howard robbed the same Home Depot again. The loss prevention officer recognized him and confronted him in the parking lot. Gonzalez-Howard pointed a gun at the officer and threatened to "smoke" him. Other patrons intervened and he dropped all the stolen items, ran to his car, and drove off.
“Taking property from a store is stealing; pulling a gun on an innocent employee who is doing his job is robbery,” said Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “What Mr. Gonzalez-Howard did was extremely dangerous, and he must serve his sentence accordingly.”