NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – There’s a new twist in a case that has haunted the Old Dominion University community, Norfolk, and Hampton Roads for more than a decade. 

One of the men suspected in the 2011 death of Christopher Cummings now wants his case dismissed. 

Rashad Dooley was convicted of three charges in the case – conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery. He was found not guilty on 10 other charges, including first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

He also is accused of taking off before his verdict was read. 

Dooley was captured and now remains in the Norfolk Jail without bond.  

Now, his attorney says the conviction is unjust, and he talked only to 10 on Your Side about his next legal move. 

Of the four defendants, only Dooley was convicted, and his attorney wants to get that verdict set aside and called for a new trial. 

“Motion for a new trial, we filed it (Nov. 4) on behalf of Mr. Dooley,” said his attorney, Eric Korslund, who added that Dooley deserved a new trial because of an email concerning “Rule 35,” which is sentence reduction for the witnesses who would testify against him. 

“We were told before trial that his cooperation would not lead to any benefit,” Korslund said, “and what do I mean by benefit, I mean freedom that he gets out of jail sooner. Certainly, that is an incentive for a witness to cooperate.” 

But after the trial, Korslund said the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office sent another email to the U.S. Department of Justice to consider sentence reduction for their witnesses’ substantial assistance in the case.  

“I cannot think of a greater motive to fabricate than freedom,” Korslund said. “Freedom is the most precious commodity there is, and that is what is being negotiated, and that is what’s being exchanged for testimony, and the jury should be allowed to know that.” 

Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said there should not be a new trial. 

“My office has reviewed the defense’s motion for a new trial,” Fatehi said. “The motion has no merit. The jury heard extensive evidence regarding cooperating witnesses, and their potential benefits, including evidence the defense presented from an expert witness. The case remains pending, and we look forward to defending the jury’s verdict in court.”

On Nov. 4, Korslund also filed a motion to set aside or dismiss the guilty verdict because of a statement made by the Commonwealth’s witness.

“I am now being attacked by members of the Bounty Hunter Blood Gang,” wrote the witness whom WAVY has chosen not to identify. 

To that, Korslund said “it was hearsay, it was fabricated, there was a witness that was beat up while he was in jail.” 

The statement from the Commonwealth’s witness included a picture of the witness with a black eye. He wrote: “I am receiving life threats VIA gang members who are under the command of Rashad Dooley.”  

Korslund said that is not true.

“Rashad is not in the Bounty Hunter Bloods,” Korslund said, “and for a jury to hear in a murder trial that somebody is in the Bounty Hunter Bloods where there is zero connection, zero nexus between Bounty Huntner Bloods and this crime.” 

Dooley is back in court Dec. 16.