Five men connected to the United Blood Nation gang have been sentenced to prison for a series of armed robberies in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Jan. 3.
The robberies began on Jan. 14, 2022, when Harold Edward Spencer III, 34, of Virginia Beach, and Kareem Doyle Ross, 34, of Newport News, robbed a Citgo Mini Mart in Virginia Beach, the office said.
On Feb. 7, 2022, Spencer, Ross, and a third accomplice robbed an Express Food Mart in Norfolk. Twelve days later, Spencer, Ross, and Marvin Eugene Lockhart Jr., 34, of Virginia Beach, targeted a Crown Gas Station in Virginia Beach.
In both robberies, the men used firearms to threaten employees and customers, stealing cash, cigarettes, and lottery tickets, the department stated.
On March 5, 2022, Spencer, Ross, and Roshaun Devon Griffin, 36, of Virginia Beach, robbed an Arrowhead Food Mart in Virginia Beach, the office reported.
The group continued on March 12, when Spencer, Ross, and Lockhart robbed a Jr. Market in Norfolk, according to the department.