LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) — The Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Lynchburg, Bethany Harrison, says 18-year-old Keyon Da’Monta Petty was sentenced to 36 years of consecutive active prison time on May 31.
This comes after Petty committed an armed robbery in October 2021, and another armed robbery in February 2022.
While Petty will serve 36 years of active prison time, many more years were suspended during the sentencing. Petty is serving charges of robbery, using a firearm during a felony, and criminal street gang participation.
Harrison says Petty was involved in a street gang called the “Lynchburg Eight Tray Gangsta Crips.”
The October 2021 robbery occurred after Petty arranged to meet a woman to buy a phone listed on Facebook. The woman met Petty near Fifth and Jackson Streets with two other adult passengers and a child in the car. Petty and three other males produced firearms and stole cash, handbags, and phones from the woman.
The February 2022 robbery occurred after Petty contacted a woman on Facebook asking for a ride in exchange for gas money. The woman agreed after Petty claimed to know her cousin. When they met up, Petty and two other men drew their guns and stole a backpack, wallet, cash, and phone from the vehicle.
“These convictions put criminal street gang members on notice that their violent criminal
behavior will not be tolerated,” said Lynchburg Police Department Chief Ryan Zuidema.
