Norfolk man acquitted in 2011 killing of ODU student
One of four defendants charged with killing Old Dominion University student Christopher Cummings during a 2011 home invasion and robbery was acquitted Thursday of all charges.
Javon Doyle, of Norfolk, stood at the defense table and sobbed as the jury’s not guilty verdicts were read after a little more than two hours of deliberations, according to defense attorney Emily Munn.
It was the second time the 32-year-old had been tried on murder, robbery and other related charges in the case in less than a year. His first trial ended with a hung jury last summer, with the panel leaning toward acquittal. His second trial began Tuesday.
“I am thrilled and relieved that Mr. Doyle has his life back,” Munn said. “Imagine the nightmare of being arrested for something you didn’t do, being held in jail for a year and trusting that the system would eventually reveal the truth. It’s an experience no human should ever endure and I’m glad justice prevailed today.”
Doyle is the third person to be relieved of charges in the case. Two co-defendants had their cases dismissed last year after their attorneys argued the Norfolk commonwealth’s attorney’s office had mishandled them.
In one of the cases, lawyers argued prosecutors failed to turn over evidence in a timely manner. In the other, they claimed false information was used to arrest and jail their client for nearly a year.
In the fourth case, Rashad Dooley was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and burglary at the end of a trial in September but was acquitted of other charges. He fled before the verdict was read but has since been arrested and is due to be sentenced next week.
Cummings was 20 and a junior at ODU when he was shot and killed in June 2011 at an off-campus house he shared with a roommate on West 42nd Street. The roommate was shot multiple times but survived.
Prosecutors said Cummings, who was a nephew of the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, had been dealing large amounts of marijuana out of the house and that the shooting occurred during a robbery attempt.
The case remained cold until August 2021, when Norfolk police announced Doyle and the others had been arrested and charged. One of the men was friends with Cummings and had known his three co-defendants since childhood.
Doyle was the first to be tried. A mistrial was declared after the jury said it was deadlocked at 10-2. Munn said some of the jurors told her the majority favored acquittal.
His second trial proceeded this week with much of the same evidence and witnesses as the first. Doyle took the stand both times and denied having anything to do with the incident.
As in the first trial, the case presented by prosecutors was entirely circumstantial and relied primarily on two witnesses: a friend of Cummings’ who told jurors he was 80 to 90% sure Doyle was the man he saw running out of the house the morning of the shootings, and a former cellmate of Doyle’s who said he bragged about being there when the crimes occurred and provided details of what happened.
“What benefit does he (the former cellmate) get by testifying?” Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Cynthia Collard asked jurors during her closing arguments. “Nothing. The only benefit is what he said — to do the right thing.”
But Munn argued that the cellmate, Phillip McBride, made up the information to try to get a deal with prosecutors.
“He’s an inmate. That’s the game,” Munn said. “And he knows how to play it.”
Munn also argued prosecutors hadn’t provided jurors with enough information to support a conviction.
“They want you to do their job and fill in all the (missing) dots,” the defense lawyer said. “That’s not how it works. That’s not your job.”