NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A 21-year-old man was sentenced to one year in prison by a Norfolk Circuit Court judge for eluding police on I-264.

On July 1, 2023, Lashun Sylvester Bradshaw was driving westbound on I-264 near the Brambleton Avenue exit when an officer scanned him doing 84 mph. As soon as the officer activated his lights, Bradshaw began weaving in and out of traffic reaching speeds of 90 mph, as he crossed the Berkley Bridge.

Once he passed the Berkley Avenue Exit, Bradshaw switched seats with one of the two passengers in the vehicle. A short time later, Chesapeake police arrived on the scene and detained and questioned everyone inside the vehicle.

Both Bradshaw and the other person admitted to switching seats while being questioned by police.

Bradshaw told police the reason he lead them on a chase and switched seats with the other individuals was because he had been on probation and did not want to go to prison.

In April of last year, Bradshaw was convicted of larceny and brandishing a firearm in Virginia Beach.

Bradshaw was charged with felony eluding and misdemeanor obstruction of justice, the individual who switched seats with Bradshaw was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice.

In October, Bradshaw pleaded guilty to his charges pursuant to a plea agreement that called for a sentence of up to one year in prison, and Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. accepted his plea.

“Eluding the police endangers the driver, the police, and the whole community,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “If the police turn on their lights, you must stop. All Mr. Bradshaw had to do was pull over, and he would not have faced a felony conviction or a felony sentence.”

On Friday, Judge Martin sentenced Bradshaw to one year in prison, with two additional years suspended on the condition that he complete an indeterminate period of supervised probation after his release.