In the winter of 2017, the life of 21-year-old Corenzo Blakely was cut short in a fatal drive-by shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia. On the afternoon of January 15th, police responded to a call on Berkley Avenue to find Blakely suffering from a gunshot wound. He was quickly transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but tragically succumbed to his injuries. At the time, his loved ones described him as a quiet individual who kept to himself, leaving them shocked and searching for answers.
His aunt, Cassandra Holloway, remembered him as a 'good boy' who worked and generally avoided trouble.
Initial investigations by the Chesapeake Police Department centered on finding a silver Honda believed to be involved in the shooting. As the case progressed, surveillance footage from a nearby gas station became a key piece of evidence. The footage captured a heated argument between an individual and an associate of Blakely's shortly before the shooting. During this confrontation, the individual's shirt lifted, revealing a firearm.
The investigation ultimately led to an arrest in connection with Blakely's death. In February 2019, the suspect entered an Alford guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm from an occupied vehicle. This plea acknowledged that the prosecution had sufficient evidence for a conviction. In exchange for the plea, an initial charge of first-degree murder was reduced.
The evidence that would have been presented at trial included the surveillance footage of the argument. Following the dispute, the suspect and his companions were seen in a silver Honda. A minute or two later, Blakely was shot as that same vehicle drove past him. Further evidence included a ballistics match between a firearm recovered from the suspect and the casings found at the scene of the crime. DNA evidence also could not eliminate the suspect as a contributor to the DNA profile found on the weapon.
