VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A man will spend the next 21 years behinds for the 2017 shooting death of a woman near the Virginia Beach-Norfolk city line.
26-year-old Richard Gregory Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of Erica Alford.
Gregory himself had been shot in the incident that happened on May 8, 2017 in the 5800 block of Newtown Arch.
Prosecutors said the double shooting was the result of a drug deal gone wrong. Gregory met with Alford to sell her drugs but when Alford said she didn't have the money for a transaction, Gregory pulled out a gun and started shooting at her.
Alford died, but not before she herself got out a gun and shot Gregory in the hand and leg.
Surveillance video showed Gregory limping away from the scene carrying a lunch bag -- believed to contain drugs -- and a black object in his hand.
When interviewed by police, Gregory claimed he did not remember what happened due to being shot.
A jury convicted Gregory in July of 2018, and on Tuesday, a circuit judge imposed the jury's recommended sentence of 21 years in prison.
