NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk man was sentenced to 36 years in prison Friday for murdering a retired city police sergeant during the armed burglary of his home in 2022.
The sentencing for 21-year-old Xavier Hudspeth comes after he was convicted on various charges in September: Second-degree murder, the use of a firearm in the commission of murder, the use of a firearm in the commission of aggravated malicious wounding, armed statutory burglary, conspiring to commit armed statutory burglary, and conspiring to commit the larceny of firearms.
"This is a heavy sentence, but it is absolutely deserved," Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi wrote in a news release. "Mr. Hudspeth cased the victims’ house and put up Mr. Brown to commit this crime to keep his own hands clean. That makes him even more responsible than the man who pulled the trigger."
Fatehi wrote that he grieves for the victims in this case, and will focus his office's resources "on the people who commit murders and woundings in our city."
The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said Hudspeth, as the employee of a cleaning company, had been hired twice to clean the home of 83-year-old former Norfolk Police Sergeant William Moore. They say that's when Hudspeth came up with a plot to steal Moore's collection of firearms.
During the trial, Hudspeth's co-defendant, 21-year-old Andra Brown, testified that Hudspeth recruited him to help with the robbery because Moore and his adult daughter who also lived at the home, wouldn't recognize him.
The two men went to Moore's home at night on Feb. 28, 2022. Brown knocked on the door and then shot Moore in the head and chest, killing him when he opened the door, according to the release. Brown is also accused of shooting the daughter in the face before rummaging through her father's belongings and running out the back door.
Both men were taken into custody by arriving Norfolk police officers who responded to a 911 call from the daughter, according to the commonwealth's attorney's office.
The daughter, who fell to the floor and played dead after being shot, testified at the trial that she heard a familiar voice say, "Dude, what did you do?" during the robbery.
While recovering from her injuries in the hospital, the daughter told her sister that she realized the voice belonged to "the cleaning guy," prosecutors said.
Hudspeth and Brown were both indicted by a grand jury in August 2022 for crimes related to the fatal home invasion. Hudspeth was also indicted for the larceny of a firearm from Moore’s home that occurred a month before.
In November 2022, Brown pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, the use of a firearm, and conspiring to commit the larceny of firearms. His sentencing is scheduled for March 22.
In addition to his time in prison, Hudspeth isn't allowed to contact the Moore family and will have to complete 30 years of uniform good behavior and indeterminate supervised probation after getting out.