Portsmouth Brothers Sentenced for 2011 Robbery Spree Across Virginia

NORFOLK, VA—Laquan Draper, 21, and Angelo Draper, 20, both of Portsmouth, Virginia, were sentenced today on charges stemming from a series of commercial robberies over an eight-week period in the summer of 2011. Laquan Draper was sentenced to 413 months, and Angelo Draper was sentenced to 300 months for the conspiracy, robbery, and firearm convictions.

Neil H. McBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the sentences were handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

During July and August 2011, the Draper brothers engaged in an eight-week robbery spree spanning seven cities from Norfolk to Roanoke, Virginia. They used stolen vehicles as getaway cars for most of the events and searched for potential robbery sites using a stolen GPS. The brothers concealed their identities ninja-style with black T-shirts tied around their faces and entered the business establishments usually between midnight and 4:00 a.m. armed with firearms or replica firearms. In most of the robberies, one brother would jump over the counter, and the other would accost the clerk or store manager demanding money. In some of the locations, the men threatened to shoot the clerks if they did not comply with demands to open the cash register or safe. The men also robbed employees of two McDonald’s Restaurants, a Wendy’s Restaurant, a Fast Auto Loans location, and Got It Video Store in Norfolk. At the video store, the Drapers and a third unidentified suspect shot out the business’s glass front door and entered through the bottom panel. They then held customers and employees at gun-point and took money from the store registers. Laquan Draper was also convicted of attempting to rob an ABC Store in Norfolk on the morning of August 25, 2011, just a few hours before he and his brother were apprehended in Chesapeake after a harrowing high speed chase with Chesapeake Police, resulting in a head-on crash with a police vehicle. Two Chesapeake detectives were injured as a result of the crash and received treatment at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Once the Draper brothers were removed from the stolen car, police recovered a .22 caliber hand-gun on the passenger floor board underneath Laquan Draper’s feet. Additional evidence recovered from the car was linked forensically to several of the crime scenes through shoe impressions, DNA, and fingerprint analysis.

After hearing from over ninety prosecution witnesses in just two weeks, a federal jury convicted the Draper brothers on January 23, 2013, of conspiracy to commit robbery, multiple counts of commercial robbery, and discharging a firearm during a violent felony. Laquan Draper was also convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Appomattox County Sheriff’s Department, Chesapeake Police Department, Norfolk Police Department, Portsmouth Police Department, Roanoke City Police Department, Roanoke County Police Department, and Virginia Beach Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the Farmville County Sherriff’s Office and the Suffolk Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sherrie S. Capotosto and Special Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Cross 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.