Bloods member charged with selling guns in connection to Oceanfront shootings sentenced to 2 years

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A 19-year-old from Virginia Beach was sentenced on Thursday to two years in prison for trafficking firearms in a Virginia Beach apartment complex that were sold ahead of a night of multiple shootings at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront last March.

Court documents show that 19-year-old Tyereis Smith, along with 19-year-old Jhaimeek Carter, illegally sold an Honor Guard 9-millimeter pistol, a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 rifle, and a Bay State 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun.

Virginia Beach police subsequently executed search warrants on Smith’s and Carter’s residences in March 2021. In Smith’s apartment, they found marijuana, digital scales, and ammunition. In Carter’s apartment, they recovered crack cocaine, ammunition, and a firearm. 

Officials say that Smith is a law enforcement-confirmed member of Bounty Hunter Watts, a set of the Bloods gang. His counterpart, Jhaimeek Carter, is also gang-affiliated and was sentenced to 30 months in prison on January 25.

The other man federally charged in connection to the case, Gerald Thomas, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.

Two people were killed and several others were injured in separate incidents that night in March 2021. Donovon Lynch was fatally shot by a Virginia Beach police officer, who was later cleared of charges. An arrest still hasn’t been made in the shooting death of DeShayla Harris.