Harvey L. Bryant, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, announced today that Todd Antwone Clark, 53 years old, who previously resided in the 4000 block of Thomas Jefferson Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced today by Circuit Court Judge William R. O’Brien for two (2) counts of Rape. Judge O’Brien sentenced Clark to two (2) terms of life in prison, with all the time suspended except 45 years to serve. Clark pled guilty on March 19, 2012.
Had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth’s evidence would have proved that at about 2:00 a.m. on June 21, 1990, Todd Antwone Clark entered a home on South Palm Avenue in the City of Virginia Beach by forcing a window open. A woman, who was six months pregnant, was asleep in her bed with her 2-year-old child. Clark took a knife from her kitchen, then went into the bedroom and got on top of the victim. As he held the knife to her throat, Clark stated, “Don’t do anything stupid or I’m gonna kill all three of you.” He then sexually assaulted the victim. Clark fled the home, discarding the knife in a neighbor’s yard. The woman discovered that her phones were missing and had to go to a neighbor’s home to call the police.
Further, at about 2:30 a.m. on August 31, 1991, Clark broke into a home on South Kentucky Avenue in Virginia Beach, where a woman and her child were alone. As the mother went to check on her sleeping baby, she saw Clark walking down the hallway toward her. He had a knife from her butcher block in his hand as he approached. Clark forced her to the bedroom and raped her. He then left the home and she called the police. It was later discovered that a laundry room window that had been closed was opened, and the curtain and rod were on the ground outside the window. The back kitchen door was unlocked, though it had previously been locked. Further, the telephone receiver from the living room was found under the couch. The victim’s camera and camcorder were missing, and twenty (20) dollars had been taken from her purse.
Physical evidence recovery kits (PERK) were collected from each victim during examinations at local hospitals. The cases remained unsolved until 2008-2009, when the Virginia Beach Police Department submitted the two victims’ PERK kits for DNA testing in hope of discovering new leads in the two cold cases. In the intervening years, Clark’s DNA became part of the Commonwealth’s DNA database. When the PERKs were tested, Clark was discovered to be a match to unknown DNA recovered from each victim’s PERK. Further testing confirmed the match.
Clark’s extensive criminal record dates back to 1979. He has previous convictions for Attempted Breaking and Entering, Burglary, Statutory Burglary, Breaking and Entering, Escape from Custody, Hit and Run – Personal Injury, Attempted Rape, Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, Obtaining Money by False Pretenses, Possession of a Schedule I or II Drug, and an array of misdemeanor offenses.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott C. Vachris and Associate Commonwealth’s Attorney Wendy R. Alexander. Please contact Macie Pridgen if additional information is desired.