A Norfolk judge denied bond Tuesday to the 17-year-old Norview High School student charged with voluntary manslaughter in the parking lot shooting that killed 16-year-old Kevon Drumgold earlier this month. The ruling keeps the teen locked up at Norfolk's juvenile detention center as his case, and that of his younger brother, moves toward a probable cause hearing and bench trial later this month.
Judge Robert Smith III said he believed the defendant presented a danger to the community, according to The Virginian-Pilot. “He's not supervised while he's in the streets,” Smith said in ordering the teen to remain in custody. Defense attorney Andrew Sacks had urged the judge to consider strikes against his client's younger brother as sufficient provocation, arguing it amounted to “a classic case for release,” per the same report.
The shooting unfolded on Sewells Point Road on October 7, shortly after school let out, when an altercation between two groups of teenagers escalated in the Norview High parking lot. Norfolk police officers responding to the 6800 block around 2:25 p.m. found two wounded teens near the school just as dismissal was underway, according to the City of Norfolk. Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot said four to six shots were fired during the confrontation and that investigators quickly secured surveillance video and witness statements, as reported by 13News Now.
A Conflict That Turned Deadly in Seconds
Drumgold, a former Norview High student, had told his mother he was receiving threats from current students with whom he had an ongoing conflict, per the Pilot's reporting. He and his friends met members of the other group, including two brothers, in the school parking lot. Sacks, who represents the older of the two brothers, described surveillance video showing one boy hit another in the face, a second boy strike the same boy, and then one shot fired followed by several more.
Drumgold was shot in the chest. His friends carried him to Sewells Point Road, where a police car happened to be stopped, according to surveillance footage cited by the Pilot. He was rushed to the hospital and declared dead shortly after arriving. The shooting also injured a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old.
The 17-year-old suspect was arrested on October 9 and charged with manslaughter, two counts of malicious wounding, shooting near a school, and possessing a firearm as a juvenile. Sacks said he believed the 17-year-old who was hospitalized for a gunshot wound was separately charged with assault and battery. Discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a public school boundary is a Class 4 felony under Virginia law, a statute that carries penalties distinct from the homicide and assault charges, according to SuaraGarut.ID.
Brother Arrested on Conspiracy Charge
On October 14, Norfolk Police arrested the suspect's 16-year-old younger brother on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit murder tied to the same shooting, per the City of Norfolk's announcement. Both brothers are expected to return to court this month for a probable cause hearing and bench trial, the Pilot reports. Sacks said he plans to appeal the bond denial.
Whether the older brother ultimately stands trial as a juvenile or an adult hinges on the exact charge he faces moving forward. Under Virginia Code § 16.1-269.1, juveniles aged 14 or older charged with murder face mandatory transfer to circuit court for trial as adults once probable cause is found, while voluntary manslaughter charges instead trigger only a discretionary transfer hearing, according to the Peters Law Firm. While cases remain in juvenile district court, detained minors like the Drumgold case defendants are held at regional juvenile facilities such as the Norfolk Detention Center, where mandatory detention review hearings occur every 30 days.
Community Mourns, Schools Tighten Security
Three days after the shooting, community members, family, and Kevon Drumgold's former middle school football coach gathered near Sewells Point Road and Widgeon Road for a candlelight vigil calling for an end to local youth gun violence. Norfolk Public Schools deployed crisis counselors, psychologists, and additional uniformed officers and school resource officers to Norview High beginning October 8 to secure the campus and support students and staff.
The shooting also followed closely on the heels of a division-wide clear bag requirement for spectators at athletic events, which Norfolk Public Schools had announced on September 22 and which took effect October 1 as part of broader district safety protocols. Norfolk recorded multiple other fatal shootings during the same stretch of October, including homicides on East Little Creek Road on October 12 and Kinney Street on October 14, underscoring the citywide pressure on public safety officials even as the Norview case moves through the courts. Hoodline previously reported on the shooting's immediate aftermath.
