Harvey L. Bryant, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, announced today that Trey Lee Emerson, 22 years old, who previously resided in Clayton, North Carolina, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Les L. Lilley for charges of Malicious Wounding and Abduction. Judge Lilley sentenced Emerson to 20 years in the Department of Corrections with 10 years suspended, leaving 10 years to serve. The sentence is almost double the time the Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines recommended he serve.
Emerson pled guilty on June 19, 2012. Had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth’s evidence would have proven that on July 26, 2011, the victim was walking her dog at Munden Point Park in the City of Virginia Beach. Around 1 p.m. she got into her car to leave. She noticed Trey Emerson, a stranger, watching her with an angry look on his face, and he began to ram her car. Emerson approached and pulled her out of her car at knifepoint. He threatened to kill her as they struggled on the ground. Finally, something startled Emerson and he fled. The victim survived with minor scrapes, cuts, and bruises from the attack. She was able to follow Emerson and get his license plate number. The woman drove to the nearest police station to report the crime. Emerson fled to North Carolina, where he was involved in a head-on collision with a minivan, and was later arrested.
Testimony was presented today by the Commonwealth implicating Emerson in a murder that occurred in Nash County, North Carolina, the day before this attack in Virginia Beach. An investigator from the Nash County Sheriff's Office testified that Emerson confessed to shooting a friend with a shotgun twice but claimed that it was an accident. Emerson did not call for help, and instead fled to Virginia Beach.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Philip C. Hollowell. Please contact Macie Pridgen if additional information is desired.