NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk jury has convicted Roberson’s co-defendant, 23-year-old Gavin M. Kearney, pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor assault in connection with the same incident, admitting he punched Ambrister moments before Roberson opened fire.
The shooting happened around 10 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2023. Roberson and Kearney were dropped off by a third person, who waited in the car while the two men walked to the back of the motel. Security footage shows them confronting Ambrister. Kearney punches him, and a brief scuffle follows.
Then, as Ambrister stands back up, Roberson pulls a gun and fires. The footage doesn’t show Roberson clearly at that moment — just his shadow — but later video and forensic evidence confirmed he was the shooter.
As Ambrister ran toward the front of the motel, yelling “I didn’t do nothing”, Roberson followed and shot him again — this time fatally, hitting him in the arm and chest. Ambrister collapsed near the lobby and died on the scene.
Roberson and Kearney ran back to the waiting car and asked the driver to take them elsewhere. The group ended up at another motel in Ocean View, but police, using surveillance footage and Flock camera technology, tracked them down that same night.
The bullet recovered from Ambrister’s body and shell casings at the scene confirmed only one gun had been fired — and Roberson was the only one seen with a firearm. The shots were just ten seconds apart.
Prosecutors originally charged both men with second-degree murder, but after forensic and video analysis, only Roberson was indicted for first-degree murder. Kearney, while clearly involved in the fight, was not shown to have known Roberson would shoot or helped him do it. He took a plea deal in 2024: 12 months in jail for assault and battery. No time suspended.
Roberson, on the other hand, went to trial — twice. His first jury trial in February 2025 ended in a hung jury. A second jury was seated in late August, and this time, after just two hours of deliberation, they returned guilty on all charges.
His sentencing is set for Dec. 19 before Judge Everett A. Martin Jr.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said the case was straightforward:
“Pulling out a gun, aiming it, and fatally shooting another person is first-degree murder. We had made Mr. Roberson a fair plea offer, but he preferred to go to trial, as was his right. We are glad the jury followed the facts and law to the right result.”
Fatehi also said his office will seek a sentence that reflects the gravity of the killing, calling the shooting a “needless taking of life.”