New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 28, 2024

Richmond woman convicted of possessing cocaine as an accommodation

By Andre Jones | August 19, 2019 11:23 pm

A Richmond woman entered no contest pleas to amended charges, including one related to drug possession, during Monday afternoon proceedings in New Kent Circuit Court.

Aliyyah Rashidah Johnson, 35, of the 2100 block of Deforrest Street, entered the no contest pleas to an amended charge of possession of cocaine as an accommodation (originally distribution of cocaine) and misdemeanor failure to appear (originally felony failure to appear) as part of a plea agreement reached. A no contest plea stipulates that evidence presented in the case would be enough to convict the defendant of the crime.

In a summary of evidence presented by Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory, on Oct. 10, 2018 around 2 a.m. in the morning, a New Kent deputy conducting radar on Interstate 64 eastbound near mile marker 218 registered a vehicle traveling 83 miles per hour in a 70 miles per hour zone. A traffic stop was initiated and the driver, identified as Johnson pulled over. Upon speaking with Johnson, the deputy detected the odor of marijuana and questioned the defendant about it. The defendant admitted that she had smoked the substance earlier at a relative’s home. Johnson gave consent to the officer to search the car and voluntarily admitted that she had a substance in her black purse. The deputy discovered a white, rocky substance that was later identified as 0.4 grams of cocaine. Johnson admitted that she had the cocaine and was taking it to her aunt in the Hampton Roads area. The failure to appear charge was a result of the defendant mixing up her court dates, resulting in the reduction to a misdemeanor charge.

Under the agreement, Johnson received a five-year sentence with all time suspended on the possession of cocaine as an accommodation conviction. She received a 12-month sentence with all but 16 days suspended on the failure to appear conviction.

In an unrelated manner, a charge of assault and battery on a law enforcement office lodged against Travon Latrelle Harris, 23, currently of Henrico Jail East, was dropped. According to Gregory, Harris was deemed incompetent to stand trial following an evaluation that was completed for another jurisdiction.