Virginia Man Receives 360-Year Prison Sentence

A man from Virginia Beach received a 360-year prison sentence this week following a four-day trial. Richard Richardson, Jr. was convicted of more than forty charges including robbery, abduction, rape, aggravated malicious wounding, and illegal use of a firearm. The jury that heard the case found Richardson guilty on all accounts and recommended the 360-year sentence. The judge agreed and entered the final judgment in the case.

According to reports, the criminal acts that resulted in a multi-century prison sentence for Richardson began in 2008. During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that suggested that Richardson and two additional co-defendants had robbed two victims at gunpoint at a Virginia Beach apartment complex.

The three men returned to the same apartment complex three days after the initial robbery with the intention of invading the home of the same person. However, the defendants broke into the wrong apartment unit. When they entered the unit, they found approximately ten people inside. The defendants demanded that the occupants lie face-down on the floor and empty their pockets.

During the invasion, two of the victims were forced into a separate room and sexually assaulted. At some point during the invasion, a man knocked on the door of the apartment unit. One of the defendants allegedly opened the door and began firing a gun at the man. The man sustained gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen. There has been word regarding whether the defendant will seek an appeal in this case.