Two Men Indicted for Armed Convenience Store Robberies

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment late yesterday charging two men with the armed robbery of multiple convenience stores in the Hampton Roads region.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Darrius Ford, 19, of Portsmouth, and Daniel Zeigler-Irizarry, Jr., 21, of Norfolk, robbed several convenience stores of cash and commercial products in the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake. Unbeknownst to Ford and Zeigler-Irizarry, during the final robbery, a tracker was embedded in the stolen money. Using the signal emitted from that tracker, Newport News Police located the defendants in a stolen vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Ford and Zeigler-Irizarry led police on a high-speed pursuit before crashing. Both were apprehended a short distance away from the scene of the crash. 

Ford and Zeigler-Irizarry, Jr. are charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by means of robbery, seven counts of interference and attempted interference with commerce by means of robbery, and six counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, Ford and Zeigler-Irizarry, Jr. face a mandatory minimum sentence of 42 years in prison. 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.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Angela Greene, Chief of Portsmouth Police; Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police; Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin G. Bird and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherrie S. Capotosto are 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. 2:20-cr-87.