Man pleads guilty to carjacking two individuals on Military Highway
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A 35-year-old man pled guilty on Monday to carjacking two individuals on Military Highway in April.
On Apr. 7, Cameron T. Lake carjacked the first victim at the Sonic drive-in off of North Military Highway. The man had just finished eating inside his car when Lake approached the car, pointed a gun to the driver and demanded he exit his car and leave his phone behind. Complying with Lake's demands, the victim got out of the car with his keys. When Lake realized he could not start the victim's car, he got out of the car, ran up to the victim, pointed his gun at the victim again and demanded his car key. The victim threw his keys on the ground and Lake picked them up, got back in the victim's car and drove away with it.
As Lake drove away in his car, the victim asked another patron at Sonic to call 911. The victim's car was enabled with GPS tracking, so he provided tracking information to Norfolk police investigators. Within two hours of the carjacking, officers located the car unoccupied in the parking lot of a strip mall that was about a mile away from the Sonic.
The following day, Lake carjacked another individual in the parking lot of a Home Depot off of Military Highway. On her lunch break, the victim was talking on the phone when Lake approached the driver's window, directed a gun at her, and repeatedly commanded her to hand over her "phones, wallet and keys." The victim exited the car, and Lake drove off after throwing out her phone and wallet.
Like the first victim, this victim's car was also enabled with GPS tracking, and she provided Norfolk Police with the tracking information. Within minutes of the carjacking, officers located this victim's car while Lake was still in it and arrested him.
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Lake was charged for both offenses with two counts of carjacking, two counts of using a firearm to commit carjacking, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On Monday, Lake entered an agreement to plead guilty to both carjacking and felon-firearm charges. In exchange, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the charges of using a firearm. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Lake's plea agreement and found him guilty. There is no agreement to Lake's sentence, which will be decided by Judge Lindsey on Jan. 17.
"Cameron Lake committed a frightening and violent crime against the victims, who were living their lives and doing nothing wrong," said Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. "Fortunately for everyone, nobody was hurt. We will recommend a sentence for Mr. Lake that fits the harm he has caused to the victims and the community."
