Xavier Greene, 30-Gun Heist, Newport News VA, 2015

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A brazen overnight burglary netted more than 30 firearms and set off a violent chain reaction across southeastern Virginia. Xavier Greene, 21, Deshawn Shields, 20, Mariah Walker, 20, and Endyia Washington, 26 — all Newport News residents — have been sentenced after pleading guilty to the August 7, 2015, break-in at Southern Police Equipment, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Chesterfield County.

Greene, the final defendant to be sentenced, received 120 months in federal prison on May 20. He joins co-defendants Washington, sentenced April 20 to 60 months; Shields, sentenced April 20 to 96 months; and Walker, sentenced May 6 to 65 months. All four were ordered to pay joint restitution of $26,582.76 to the victim business for the stolen weapons and damages.

Court documents reveal the group drove from Newport News to Richmond with plans to hit a pawn shop, but backed off when they saw heavy police presence. They redirected to Southern Police Equipment on Midlothian Turnpike. Washington and Walker dropped Greene and Shields behind the building, where the two ripped the power box from the wall to disable alarms before breaking in. Inside, they caused thousands in damage and grabbed rifles, handguns, and at least one shotgun.

After the heist, the crew returned to Newport News with the arsenal in tow. Greene, a known member of the 36th Street Bang Squad — a violent hybrid street gang active on the Virginia Peninsula — invited multiple gang associates to Washington’s home to distribute the weapons. Other firearms were handed to a gang member in Hampton to sell. The gang has been linked to shootings, murders, and armed robberies across the region.

Several of the stolen firearms have since surfaced in unrelated crimes, recovered by law enforcement in Hampton, Newport News, and Virginia Beach. The rapid dispersal of the weapons underscores the broader danger posed by trafficking stolen guns into communities already plagued by gun violence.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Boxler; Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult; and Newport News Police Chief Richard Myers announced the sentences following rulings by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross and investigated by ATF’s Norfolk and Richmond divisions, with critical support from the Hampton, Newport News, and Chesterfield police departments. Case details are available via PACER under No. 4:15-cr-76.