Solomon Jah Mosely, 20, has been sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The sentencing follows the passage of a 2024 Virginia law that made it illegal to possess or sell guns with removed or defaced serial numbers. Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi was among those who advocated for this legislative change.
According to police, on January 19, officers attempted to stop Mr. Mosely while he was driving a van with expired registration in the 2600 block of Tidewater Drive. He did not stop until his vehicle hit a one-way sign at Sutton and Fremont streets. After exiting the van, Mr. Mosely fled on foot through several residential areas before being apprehended by police.
While in custody at the Norfolk City Jail the following day, Mr. Mosely made a phone call where he admitted involvement in the police pursuit and described where he had hidden a firearm during his escape attempt. Police monitored this call and subsequently recovered the gun, which had been reported stolen from Chesapeake two days prior. The firearm’s serial number had been defaced, making it unreadable. Due to a prior juvenile felony adjudication, Mr. Mosely is prohibited from possessing firearms.
On September 5, Mr. Mosely agreed to plead guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number—a misdemeanor offense under the new law—in exchange for dismissal of additional misdemeanor charges from the incident. His sentence includes another four years and four months suspended, contingent upon completion of two years supervised probation and three years of good behavior after release; it falls within state sentencing guidelines. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted the plea agreement.
“Until July 1, 2024, it was totally legal under Virginia law to possess a gun with an obliterated serial number. That loophole in Virginia law was crazy and allowed wrongdoers to possess or even sell illegal crime guns with no recourse for police or prosecutors,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “That is why Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and I successfully advocated in the General Assembly for a change to Virginia law to allow for the prosecution of this serious offense. I express my appreciation to the Norfolk Police for apprehending Mr. Mosley and for going the extra mile to discover the existence of this gun and to get it off the street. We will continue to focus our efforts on the suppression of violence, and I will continue to advocate for sensible changes to the law to allow for a safer Norfolk and Virginia.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony J. Balady prosecuted the case; Detective Kellie L. Smoot led the investigation.
