NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man has been sentenced for ramming his SUV into the mother of his kids in the MacArthur Center parking garage last year.
33-year-old Avion Lamar Northan was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.
On the afternoon of August 17, 2021, Northan attended a custody hearing in Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. He lost custody of the two children he shares with the woman he hit with his car.
According to officials, Northan immediately left the courthouse and walked to his SUV parked across the street at the MacArthur Center garage. They say he then drove to a different parking space in the same garage, parked his SUV behind the vehicle belonging to the mother of his children, and waited with his headlights on.
The mother was with her friend when she returned to car. Northan then hit her as she was standing outside of her car. Her friend was unarmed.
Accompanied by a friend, the mother of Mr. Northan’s children returned to her car about a half hour later. Upon seeing the mother of his children, Mr. Northan rapidly accelerated his SUV and used it to strike her as she stood by her driver's side door. Her friend, who stood near the passenger side of the vehicle, was unharmed.
Police found the woman on the ground with her legs broken. Court documents say the detectives ran to the scene and saw Northan walking towards them, telling police he just ran over a female. He cooperated with the arrest.
Northan further told the detectives, “If I can't have my kids, she can't have my kids, and I hope she is dead.”
Doctors said the crash had broken many bones and she has since undergone numerous surgeries. Officials say she recently regained the ability to walk.
Northan pleaded no contest on July 6, 2022, to aggravated malicious wounding, assault and battery against a family member and attempt to commit non-capital first-degree murder. He was found guilty of those charges.
On Friday, a judge sentenced Northan to serve 20 active years in prison.
“Mr. Northan could have killed the mother of his children, and for that terrible crime he will spend 20 years in prison,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Northan earned a sentence equivalent to one for murder, because that was what he intended to do. My thoughts are with the victim of this crime and for her continued recovery and healing. We will continue to hold accountable the perpetrators of senseless and malicious violence.”
