In the early morning hours of February 5, 2023, a violent encounter on a dead-end street in Portsmouth, Virginia, claimed the life of 51-year-old Alvin Joyner, a Black male. What began as an offer of a ride to two strangers ended in a tragic triple shooting that also took the life of his twin brother, Calvin Joyner, and left a 61-year-old female companion critically wounded.
The group was in Alvin's vehicle in the 1800 block of Nashville Avenue when one of the passengers, Joseph Cross, suddenly produced a gun.
According to the harrowing testimony of the lone survivor, Cross demanded money from everyone in the vehicle. He then opened fire, shooting Alvin first, followed by Calvin, who had reportedly lunged at him. The woman in the backseat was also shot in the neck, shoulder, and jaw. She survived by pretending to be dead as Cross and his girlfriend, Shamoine Briggs, went through her pockets before dragging her from the car. After the couple drove away in the Joyners' vehicle, the injured woman managed to crawl to a nearby house for help. Less than a mile from the scene, police later found the vehicle engulfed in flames, an act prosecutors said was an attempt by Cross to destroy evidence.
The investigation quickly led to the arrests of 30-year-old Shamoine Briggs and 31-year-old Joseph Cross just days after the killings. While being questioned, Cross gave conflicting stories. Initially, he denied any involvement, but later admitted to the shootings, claiming he acted to protect his girlfriend from the brothers' alleged aggression. However, the survivor's account painted a different picture of a robbery-motivated attack.
Joseph Cross faced a jury trial and was ultimately found guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated murder, aggravated malicious wounding, robbery, carjacking, and multiple counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. The aggravated murder conviction in Virginia carries an automatic life sentence. Briggs was also charged in connection with the crimes. The brutal slayings of the Joyner twins sent shockwaves through the Portsmouth community and contributed to a spike in violent crime in the region that year.
