Man Pleads Guilty to Assault on Langley Air Force Base

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man pleaded guilty today to charges of assault by strangulation stemming from a February altercation aboard Langley Air Force Base.

According to court documents, Gregory Keith Fortune-Prior, 29, was involved in a verbal argument with his son’s mother at her residence on Langely Air Force Base. During the argument, Fortune-Prior physically assaulted the victim by grabbing the back of her neck, throwing her on to the bed, and then hitting the victim causing her nose to bleed. After the victim exited the room into the hallway, Fortune-Prior followed and placed both of his hands around the front of the victim’s neck and began strangling her. The victim’s legs began to give out as she experienced difficulty breathing and after Fortune-Prior let go she fell to the ground. Fortune-Prior then kicked the victim on the side of her abdomen multiple times. The victim exited the residence with her son, but after realizing that she had left her identification and credit cards behind, returned to retrieve them. Upon returning, Fortune-Prior confronted the victim again and began hitting her. The victim was holding their two-year-old son at the time and had to use her body to cover the child so that Fortune-Prior did not hit him. The victim sustained multiple visible injuries as a result of the assault.  

Fortune-Prior faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on November 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Colonel Kirk B. Stabler, Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Taylor is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-63.