Tamarrea Deyon Walker, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Virginia 2023

NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced to 70 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Tamarrea Deyon Walker, 25, a member of the Suffolk-based criminal street gang 'YNGI,' was found guilty of violating federal law by possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

On April 12, 2019, Walker and a fellow gang member brandished firearms and shot at two rival gang members, who fled to their vehicle and drove away. Walker and four other YNGI members piled into their own car and gave chase. The two groups shot at each other while the cars were moving.

The driver of Walker's car was shot in the chest with a rifle, which caused him to slam on the gas, speed through an intersection, and crash head-on into another vehicle.

Police officers arrived at the accident scene soon after and saw Walker rummaging around the vehicle and an extended 9mm magazine lying on the ground by his feet. The officers also recovered from the wreckage more than 30 grams of heroin and four firearms, including a Masterpiece Arms 9mm handgun.

A photo of Walker holding the Masterpiece Arms handgun, loaded with that same extended magazine, was posted on his Instagram account just days earlier.

Walker was sentenced to 70 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the federal government's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN focuses on identifying the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and developing comprehensive solutions to address them.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the federal government's initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.

Gang violence is a growing concern in Hampton Roads, and law enforcement agencies are working together to target these violent gangs.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/gang-member-involved-vehicle-shoot-out-sentenced-prison-firearm-possession