LYNCHBURG, Va. – An 18-year-old has been convicted by a Lynchburg jury in connection with an armed robbery that happened last October, according to Lynchburg’s Commonwealth Attorney.
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On Oct. 7, 2021, around 3:32 p.m., the Lynchburg Police Department got reports of a robbery and shots fired in the area of Fifth Street and Jackson Street.
One victim, a woman, told police she had arranged to meet a man through Facebook to sell a phone on Fourth Street between Jackson and Polk Streets.
Authorities said she rode as a front passenger in the vehicle, a man drove the car, and another female was the rear passenger with the child.
When they got to the location, the Commonwealth’s Attorney said they saw a group of four males, one of whom the woman said she was meeting to sell the phone to.
One male from the group went up to their car, spoke, then pulled out a gun, authorities said.
The other three men in the group pulled out their firearms and surrounded the car, then told them all to get out, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
We’re told the driver was taken across the street, separated from the women and the child.
The victims of the robbery were found at Fourth and Jackson Street, authorities said.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney said the group took purses containing cash, two cell phones, and threw another cell phone in a yard.
Authorities said the Lynchburg Police Department found four males three blocks away and took them into custody. They were identified as juveniles.
One person in the group, later identified as Keyon Petty, was carrying a backpack that had four semiautomatic firearms in it, authorities said.
Petty was 17 years old when the robbery happened, and he is now 18 years old, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
On Nov. 17, officials said Petty was tried as an adult in the Lynchburg Circuit Court.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney said Petty was convicted on the following charges:
- Three counts of Robbery by Use or Display of a Firearm,
- Three counts of Use of a Firearm During a Felony,
- Possession of a Handgun by a Minor,
- Criminal Street Gang Participation.