NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — After high-speed chases and armed robberies, evidence found from phones, shoeprints and video surveillance led to the arrests and convictions for five men. The leader — a member of the Bloods gang — was sentenced to over 42 years in prison on Thursday, Nov. 2, officials said.
33-year-old Harold Spencer, of Virginia Beach, was the leader in a five-man armed robbery operation along with: Kareem Ross, 34, of Hampton, Roshaun Griffin, 36, of Virginia Beach, Jon Morgan, 32, of Portsmouth and Marvin Lockhart, Jr., 32, of Virginia Beach, according to court documents.
Spencer was sentenced to 507 months in prison for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by means of robbery, seven counts of interference and attempted interference with commerce by means of robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
The individuals successfully executed six armed-robberies before they were caught on an attempted robbery. At the second robbery, Spencer almost killed a customer after shooting at the individual several times as the person fled, officials said.
On March 18, 2022, Spencer led police on a high-speed chase in Virginia Beach after attempting to rob a Tiger Mart gas station, officials said. A police car’s dash cam captured the men throwing out several loaded weapons from their car, during the pursuit.
The men were caught after spike strips were deployed and police recovered ski masks and gloves and matched the clothes and shoes the men were wearing to surveillance from six prior armed robberies.
The crew had stolen crash, cigarettes and lottery tickets, and investigators pulled surveillance from when Spencer and Ross attempted to cash in their tickets and identified both men.
A selfie taken by Spencer on his phone showed him wearing the same ski mask from all six robberies, and contained his DNA after it was recovered. Investigators connected the shoes from when Spencer was arrested to a lift of an impression made at the Arrowhead Food Mart he had robbed on March 5, 2022. The same shoes were worn in all the robberies.
Photos also showed Ross holding a handgun with a drum magazine, multiple Glock firearms consistent with those thrown from the fleeing vehicle, large sums of cash and lottery tickets.
Spencer was previously convicted of a 2012 armed robbery. He was sentenced in Norfolk to 10 years incarceration with eight of the years suspended.
Several months before the armed robbery spree, Morgan completed a 10-year prison sentence for a previous armed robbery.
Ross was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Griffin was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17. Lockhart is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 2, 2024.
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