19-year-old pleads guilty to first-degree murder in Suffolk

SUFFOLK

Armando Soria Sosa pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder and other crimes in the August 2007 death of Leon Jones.

Sosa, who was 17 when the crime occurred, burst into a Nansemond Parkway apartment where police said gambling was taking place and tried to rob the victim. Sosa said earlier in court that the gun was knocked from his hand. He retrieved it and fired, striking Jones in the neck.

Sosa, now 19, said to Circuit Court Judge Carl Eason that he cannot read or write. He said he completed the sixth grade and came from Texas to Suffolk to live with distant relatives. He was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year after undergoing mental evaluations.

In the plea agreement, Sosa pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted robbery, three counts of using a firearm in commission of a felony, and one count of maliciously discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling.

He faces up to life in prison plus 36 years for the crimes, said Brian Gay, his lawyer.

Man sentenced in theft of car parts

A Windsor man accused last year of stealing catalytic converters from parked cars across the city was sentenced on Monday to eight years of active incarceration and 10 years of supervised probation.

David Bone, along with Nicholas Villi and Tiffany Holt, were charged with pulling up to the vehicles, getting out and snipping off the catalytic converters, a part of an auto's emission system that contains expensive heavy metals.

Bone, 27, pleaded guilty to a total of 27 charges. He also faces eight years for stealing converters in Chesapeake.

Bone and his accomplices must pay $6,602.80 in restitution.

- Linda McNatt