Man guilty of seconddegree murder in '23 Portsmouth homicide
Nov 14, 2024
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A jury has found a Portsmouth man guilty of second-degree murder and other charges in connection to the 2023 shooting death of 20-year-old Ja'Son Randolph.
Previously: Portsmouth police arrest suspects in connection to Turnpike Road homicide
Deterryo Harris
Deterryo Stephon Harris was also found guilty of shooting/stabbing in the commission of a felony, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, damage to property less than $1,000 and reckless firing of a firearm following a two-day jury trial in Portsmouth Circuit Court.
According to prosecution evidence at trial, on April 11, 2023, Harris and another person were in the parking lot of a shopping center at the intersection of Turnpike Road and Frederick Boulevard when they found Randolph as he was coming out of the Tobacco and Vape business.
Harris, according to the prosecution's evidence, then retrieved a gun from the vehicle he was riding in and shot at Randolph, striking him multiple times before leaving the scene and going to a nearby apartment complex.
Randolph was pronounced dead at the scene.
Harris' sentencing is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 30.
Another person charged in connection to Randolph's death, Dejuan Weston, had five of the six charges he had faced, including a charge of first-degree murder, dismissed Sept. 14, 2023 in Portsmouth General District Court, according to online court records. He had also faced a felony malicious wounding charge, but he was found guilty of an amended misdemeanor charge of being an accessory after the fact in a felony.
Weston was sentenced to 12 months in jail on the amended charge, with seven months suspended. He was also given 12 months of unsupervised probation and fined $245.
The other charges that were dismissed against Weston included charges of shooting or stabbing in the commission of a felony, the first-offense use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, destruction of property or monument and the reckless handling of a firearm.