D’Shawn Creque, 28, pleaded guilty in Norfolk, Virginia, to aiding and abetting the May street takeover on Redgate Avenue in West Ghent, where a flamethrower and fireworks lit the street, WTKR reported. He has finished 80 hours of community service and owes 20 more. Six months of good behavior closes the case, the station said. Its report gives the plea only as a Tuesday and quotes no judge and neither side’s lawyer.
What happened on Redgate Avenue
The takeover ran on Sunday, May 17, around 8:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Redgate Avenue near Greenway Court, according to WTKR’s report on the first arrest. Neighbors put the crowd at about 75 people and said cars stunt-drove for roughly 20 minutes. One person appeared to use a flamethrower after another poured what looked like gasoline, and others set off fireworks. A 911 caller said, “The street’s on fire!” No injuries were reported.
Creque was arrested May 26 and charged with aiding or abetting street racing or exhibition driving, and was due in court June 2, WAVY reported. Six days earlier, Norfolk police and Virginia Beach police arrested Isaiah A. Duncan-Simmons, 19, of Virginia Beach. He is charged with disorderly conduct and carelessly damaging property by fire, and police say he was holding the flamethrower. Those are charges, and I found no reported outcome in his case.
Eighteen minutes from the first call to an officer on the block
Norfolk Police E911 records, as WAVY reported them, show the first call at 8:22 p.m. and an officer dispatched five minutes later. That officer was pulled onto a separate call involving a person with a weapon. A second officer was sent at 8:38 p.m. and reached the block at 8:40. Chief Mark Talbot told a West Ghent Civic League meeting the department was fully staffed and described the night as a collision of events, per WAVY. Neighbors had said it took more than 20 minutes.
That gap is why takeover cases are built from video after the crowd is gone. Norfolk’s Criminal Intelligence Unit released screen grabs from a video and asked the public to identify people in it, and Creque was arrested nine days after the takeover. Authorities also seized some of the cars, WAVY reported.
What Virginia law gives a judge to work with
Virginia Code § 46.2-865. It defines exhibition driving as specific acts done “in close proximity to a group of two or more people,” including holding a car in place while spinning the wheels, zigzagging or spinning in circles, and carrying a passenger on the hood or roof. Under subsection C, exhibition driving on a highway, or on business property open to the public without the owner’s authorization, is reckless driving. A conviction requires the court to suspend the driver’s license for up to six months. Racing under subsection B carries a suspension of six months to two years…