NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday in connection to the death of a late Congressman's nephew.
Last fall, a jury found Rashad Dooley guilty of three charges in the death of Old Dominion University student Christopher Cummings in 2011.
Dooley was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Rashad Dooley broke down talking to Cummings' family before the judge sentenced him saying quote, “I am not a killer, I don’t know who killed him.”
Dooley's attorney Eric Korslund said they will start the appeal process.
“He has been adamant about his innocence this entire trial," Korslund said. "In fact, they offered him full immunity, where he could walk away from this and he chose not to accept it.”
Police arrested Dooley and three other men in 2021 for the murder of Chris Cummings and the shooting of his roommate Jake Carey in 2011. A jury acquitted Javon Doyle of all charges he faced during a retrial. Prosecutors dropped the charges against the others.
Cummings father, James, said he’s grateful the judge went above sentencing guidelines. In court, he told Dooley, quote, “I will never forgive you.”
“It was extremely gratifying," Cummings said. "She realized this was a person that really needed to be locked up, so that did my heart good.”
He shared a moment outside the courthouse with Jake Carey. He said when Carey woke up in the ICU after the shooting, he first asked about Cummings.
“When he found out Chris had passed, it broke his heart," Cummings said.
There is still no conviction for Cummings' murder. Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said his team did their best.
“The system worked the way it is designed to work, which is to make it difficult to convict people," Fatehi said. "I would have liked to have seen convictions on other cases but I will take what we got.”
13News Now reached out to a spokeswoman with the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office to see if we could speak with Dooley in jail. They declined our request, saying it poses a safety and security issue.
Cummings was the nephew of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings.
In December, Dooley's defense attorney pushed for a retrial. Korslund claimed there were problems with inmate testimony against his client during the original trial. But a judge decided not to grant that request.
Jurors did acquit Dooley in 10 of the 13 charges he faced in this case.
On Friday, a judge gave Dooley a 10-year sentence per remaining charge, with five years suspended on the charge of conspiracy to commit burglary.