Colin D. Stolle, Commonwealth's Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, announced that Angelo Antonio Worlds, 19 years old, formerly of the 3200 block of Chesterton Court in Virginia Beach, Virginia, pled guilty and was sentenced today by Circuit Court Judge H. Thomas Padrick for First Degree Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding (2 counts), Malicious Wounding, and Use of a Firearm (4 counts). In accordance with a plea agreement, Judge Padrick sentenced Worlds to 125 years in prison, with fifty (50) years suspended, leaving 75 years to serve. This sentence was 25 years greater than the high-end of the Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines, which recommended a maximum sentence of fifty (50) years to serve.
Had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth's evidence would have proven that on December 2, 2016, Angelo Worlds picked up juvenile co-defendant Nicholas Cates from his workplace, Taco Bell. On Cates' lunch break, the two drove around a nearby neighborhood in Cates' Hyundai. They ultimately stopped in the 1300 block of Hawk Avenue in the Cardinal Estates neighborhood. Worlds told Cates to stop the car when he saw Zacarias Aguilar-Ayala sitting in a truck. Worlds left Cates' vehicle with Cates' gun and shot Aguilar-Ayala several times, killing him instantly. Worlds and Cates went back to Taco Bell, where Cates continued working his shift and Worlds left.
On December 7, 2016, Worlds knocked on a front door in the 1100 block of Clubhouse Road. When a resident went to answer the door, Worlds shot multiple times through the door, striking the man in the abdomen. The victim was transported to the hospital with significant internal injuries. He was hospitalized for several months and underwent multiple surgeries as a result. The victim was a stranger to Worlds.
Shortly after the incident on Clubhouse Road, Worlds knocked on a front door in the 3200 block of Dunnbury Court. A husband and wife were inside the home and asked who was at the door. Worlds then shot multiple times through the front door, striking the woman in the head and shoulder and the man in the leg. Both were taken to the hospital for medical treatment. These victims were also strangers to Worlds.
During an interview with detectives on December 9, 2016, Worlds confessed to being involved in the murder of Mr. Aguilar-Ayala as well as the shootings on December 7, 2016. One of the guns used by Worlds was recovered from his attic during a search by police.
Worlds and Cates were juveniles at the time of the offenses, but their cases were certified to the Circuit Court for trial as adults due to the seriousness of the crimes. For his role in Mr. Aguilar-Ayala's murder and a separate murder in which he was the shooter, Cates pled guilty to First Degree Murder, Accessory After the Fact- Homicide, and Use of a Firearm, and is serving fifty (50) years in prison.
Commonwealth's Attorney Colin D. Stolle, Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Paul J. Powers, and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Katharine D. Aicher prosecuted this case. Please contact Macie Allen if additional information is desired.