Va. Beach man gets 10 years for gunpoint robbery

VIRGINIA BEACH

A Circuit Court judge today ordered a man spend a decade behind bars for the January robbery of a Papa Joe's Smoke Shop, the commonwealth's attorney's office said.

Kyle Delano Smith, 21, formerly of the 1200 block of Ferndale Court, pleaded guilty in July to robbery, use of a firearm in a felony, conspiracy and wearing a mask in public, according to online court records.

The hold-up was one in a spate of armed robberies in January involving several businesses. Four people were arrested in connection with the crimes; Smith was charged only in the robbery of Papa Joe's Smoke Shop, prosecutors said.

According to a news release, Smith donned a mask, went into the shop and robbed it at gunpoint on Jan. 20 while a second man, Matthew Allen Turner, 23,  served as a look-out. A third person, Olivia Danielle Mercedes Weir, 24, drove the getaway car, prosecutors said.

Weir was sentenced to 16 years earlier this month in connection with the smoke shop robbery and the robberies of two Beach Albano Cleaners. Turner has pleaded guilty to wearing a mask in public,  two counts of conspiracy and four counts each of robbery and use of a firearm in a felony. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11.

Judge Leslie L. Lilley sentenced Smith to 17 years with all but 10 years suspended. The term exceeded state sentencing guidelines, which recommended he serve no more than seven and a half years in prison, according to the news release.