Newport News Man Receives Life Sentence for Murder

NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Aronte D. Jarvis, 25, of Newport News, was sentenced today to life in prison for the 2008 murder of Jonte Terry in the Kmart parking lot located at Oriana Drive in Newport News.

Kathleen M. Kahoe, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Joseph A. Moore, Interim Chief of Police, Newport News Police Department made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.

Jarvis pled guilty on June 24, 2013, to murder in aid of racketeering activity. His girlfriend, Tayvonna Licorish, was charged in a superseding indictment with accessory after the fact and misprision of a felony. Her trial is scheduled for November 13, 2013.

According to court documents, Jarvis was a member of a criminal organization known as Thug Relations, which operates in the Aqueduct Apartments, St. Michael’s Apartments, Warwick Lawns, Warwick Town Homes, Heritage Trace Apartments, Mariner’s Landing Apartments, Sharon Drive, and the Savage Drive areas of Newport News. The defendant and others established the power and prestige of the gang through violence, including the murder of Jonte Terry on February 3, 2008. Terry, 22, was shot in the Kmart parking lot located at Oriana Drive in Newport News. The indictment alleged that Terry was killed by Jarvis for the purpose of maintaining his position in Thug Relations.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Newport News Police Department and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Howard J. Zlotnick and Lisa R. McKeel prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.