Two Portsmouth residents have been sentenced to prison following their involvement in trafficking firearms, according to federal authorities.
Court records indicate that from June to September 2024, law enforcement carried out six controlled purchases of firearms and heroin from Rolondo Lavar Moody, age 45. During one of these operations on August 9, 2024, Kievon Anthony Whitehurst, age 30, transferred a rifle to Moody, who then sold the weapon.
Whitehurst has prior convictions for reckless handling of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. Moody’s criminal record includes convictions for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, assault charges including assault and battery of a family member, attempted malicious wounding, possession of a controlled substance, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. As convicted felons, both men are prohibited by law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Moody pleaded guilty on April 8 to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and trafficking in firearms. He received a ten-year prison sentence on September 4. Whitehurst pleaded guilty on July 29 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced today to two years and six months in prison.
Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; and Stephen Jenkins, Chief of Portsmouth Police jointly announced the sentences.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc W. West from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.
According to officials, this prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating violent crime by leveraging resources through Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Further information about this case can be found at the website for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as well as through court documents available via the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or PACER by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-50.
