NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A 21-year-old man was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for eluding police in a stolen vehicle.

On Aug. 9, 2023, Norfolk police received a FLOCK alert for a 2012 Hyundai Sonata that was stolen from Hampton a day earlier.

An officer spotted Marquise Devonte Thomas driving the stolen Sonata near the intersection of East Princess Anne Road and Monticello Avenue. When they attempted to pull Thomas over he took off through heavy traffic.

A short time later, officers tried to stop Thomas near East Brambleton Avenue, but he once again fled the scene. Eventually, Thomas was forced to stop at a light rail crossing on Bute Street and was detained by police.

The Hyundai Sonata had its steering column and ignition tampered with, consistent with the “Kia Challenge” method of auto thefts.

On Monday, Thomas pleaded guilty to being in receipt of a stolen vehicle and felony eluding. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted his plea with an agreed sentence of one year and three months in prison.

The judge suspended three years and nine months from the sentence on the conditions that Thomas complete two years of supervised probation and uniform good behavior following his release.

“Good police work and the FLOCK license plate camera system continue to produce quick arrests and solid convictions in auto-theft cases,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “But as we have seen too many times, Mr. Thomas made his situation much worse by fleeing the police, adding a second felony to the one he had already committted. We are fortunate that he did not hurt himself or other people. If the police attempt to pull someone over, that person simply must stop.”