NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- Stanley O' Neil Shipman, 34, was sentenced to five years in prison on Oct. 11 for conspiring with an unidentified man to rob a prostitute. On Oct. 12, 2022, Shipman and the prostitute stayed in a room at the Motel 6 on North Military Highway. The victim had gone to a nearby store and won $2,500 from a gaming machine. She informed Shipman of her winnings before returning to the room. Shortly after returning to the room, there was a knock at the door. Once answered, there appeared a man with a gun directed at her. Shipman grabbed the woman from behind and demanded she give her winnings to the other man. The woman refused, which resulted in both men assaulting her until she gave them her money. The prostitute called Norfolk Police to report the robbery and went to a hospital for injuries on her face. Nearly a year following the incident, Shipman was arrested in September 2023. Shipman admitted to investigators that he set the scheme up in exchange for the other man involved providing him with drugs. On July 25, Shipman pleaded guilty to armed robbery and conspiring to commit armed robbery. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Shipman's plea agreement. In addition to serving five years in prison, Judge Scott suspended 15 more years on the terms that he completes five years of uniform good behavior and two years of supervised probation after his release. “The victim in this case trusted Mr. Shipman, and Mr. Shipman repaid her trust by beating and robbing her,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney. “The law protects all people equally, no matter who they are or how vulnerable. We are glad that the victim in this case is all right, that she came forward and told the truth, and that she helped us hold Mr. Shipman accountable for his crime.”