NORFOLK
A man will serve 21 years for shooting his opponent after a fistfight at a party, a judge ruled Friday.
Melvin Shuman Hill, 35, pleaded guilty in March to charges of second-degree murder, using a gun, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Prosecutor Amy Cross said Friday that Hill had been released from incarceration on other charges only two months before the killing in October.
Cross told Judge Jerrauld C. Jones that Hill started a fight with Willie Robinson Jr. by slapping him in the face. Robinson responded by punching Hill, and the two exchanged blows.
The fight ended and Hill apologized and left, Cross said.
As Robinson stood outside later, Hill returned with a gun and shot Robinson twice in the chest.
He was 40.
When police arrested Hill a short time later, he said the shooting had been in self-defense.
Friends and family testified for Hill that he was a friendly guy who loved to joke and had never been violent before.
Robinson's mother testified that she felt each bullet the night her son was killed.
"He was my oldest boy," she said. "I wish I could get my son back."
Michelle Washington, (757)
446-2287, michelle.washington@
pilotonline.com
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