NORFOLK, Va. — A man was sentenced to 21 months in jail after pleading guilty to multiple instances of shoplifting in Norfolk. Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi highlights this case, along with many others like it, as a clear example of why the Virginia Access to Justice Act is crucial for ensuring fairness in the state’s justice system.
According to a press release from the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, 49-year-old Johnny Ratcliff shoplifted bottles of liquor from ABC store locations on Tidewater Drive, E. Little Creek Road, and International Boulevard across several months in 2023.
Ratcliff would take the bottles, place them in his backpack and walk out without paying…