NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia Beach man with a long criminal record will spend the next five and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm.
According to court documents, on May 25, 2024, Virginia Beach Police officers observed 33-year-old Khyri Jamar Whitehead remove a handgun from the trunk of a vehicle. Officers watched as he placed the weapon in the front of his waistband and covered it with his shirt.
Police continued surveillance until Whitehead entered another vehicle as a passenger. At that point, officers conducted a traffic stop, removed him from the vehicle, and recovered the handgun.
Whitehead is a convicted felon and, under federal law, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Court records show he has 18 prior felony convictions. Prosecutors also identified Whitehead as a member of the Bounty Hunter Watts gang.
Given his criminal history, the case moved through federal court. He was sentenced today to five years and six months in prison.
Federal felon-in-possession cases have become a central tool for prosecutors targeting repeat offenders, particularly those with documented gang ties. In Hampton Roads, law enforcement agencies have increasingly relied on coordinated efforts between local police and federal prosecutors to pursue longer sentences in cases involving prohibited gun possession.
Whitehead will serve his sentence in federal custody.