Just after midday on December 30, 2024, Lequan Devon Cherry, a 26-year-old male, was fatally shot at the Happy Smoke Super Gift Shop in the 5400 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard. The Virginia Beach Emergency Communications and Citizens Services received multiple calls reporting the shooting at 12:03 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Cherry deceased.
The incident unfolded after what police described as a verbal argument. Cherry had reportedly made a quick stop at the smoke shop. His girlfriend and their 7-year-old son were waiting in the car. According to his girlfriend's testimony, she saw the suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Jeremiah Quinones of Norfolk, enter the store shortly after Cherry. She then heard gunshots and saw Quinones run out of the store. When she went inside, she found Cherry on the ground, seriously injured but still alive. He succumbed to his injuries by the time police arrived. His girlfriend also testified that Quinones returned to the store twice after the initial shooting. Surveillance video reportedly captured the events as they transpired.
Following the shooting, a detailed description of the suspect and his vehicle was broadcast to law enforcement. The Virginia Beach Police Department's Real Time Crime Center utilized a license plate reader database to identify locations where the suspect's vehicle had been previously seen. A Norfolk Police Department officer located the vehicle in one of these areas and attempted a traffic stop. Quinones fled, leading to a brief pursuit that ended in Virginia Beach, where he was taken into custody less than an hour after the initial 911 calls were made.
Jeremiah Quinones was arrested and charged with First Degree Murder, Malicious Wounding, and two counts of Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. The mother of the accused stated that her son and Cherry had known each other for years and had been involved in an ongoing dispute over social media, which included death threats. She claimed her son acted in self-defense, believing Cherry was reaching for a weapon, though police stated Quinones left the store only to return and shoot Cherry again. A preliminary hearing was held in May 2025, after which the case was expected to go to a grand jury in June.
