York County man pleads guilty in attempted robbery; two others sentenced

Derek D. Moore, a key figure in a plan hatched by York County high school friends last year to rob a notorious drug dealer, is getting a taste of life behind bars.

Judge Thomas B. Hoover of New Kent County Circuit Court revoked bond and sent the former Bruton High School student to jail yesterday after Moore pleaded guilty in the case and then tested positive for marijuana.

Also, two other defendants in the case were sentenced yesterday.

Out on bond since shortly after his arrest in October, Moore, 19, told the judge at first that he was clean, but after testing positive, offered that he may have picked up marijuana in his system from being with friends.

That excuse reverberates through a case that ended with the shooting death of another Bruton student, Christopher Greene, in the Oct. 14 effort to rob John Steven Carter of drugs and guns at Carter's Lanexa home.

Carter, 56, was using an alias and was on the run from drug charges in Florida; he apparently gunned down Greene as Greene broke through Carter's back door with a rifle, according to court documents.

Carter disappeared but was arrested this month in Alabama after a monthslong search. He is facing drug, weapon and fugitive charges in Florida; it is uncertain whether he will be extradited back to Virginia.

Moore, who helped arrange the plan to rob Carter and who drove to Lanexa on Oct. 14 with three other current or former Bruton students, lost his freedom yesterday and will be formally sentenced June 8.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery; sentencing guidelines indicate he'll serve seven to 20 months in jail.

Moore was best friends with Greene and came forward to police the day after Greene's death. "What we know about this case comes from Mr. Moore," Commonwealth's Attorney C. Linwood Gregory told Hoover.

Two other defendants in the case pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor charges of being accessories to conspiracy and to attempted robbery. Robert T. Tynes Jr., described in a batch of letters of support as an outstanding young man with a limitless future, received a suspended 24-month sentence.

Tynes accompanied others to Lanexa and drove the vehicle home that carried the young men, leaving Greene's body behind outside Carter's back door.

A third defendant, Kodie L. Tyler, who passed up bond and has been in jail since October, received a 10-year sentence, with all but six months suspended. He pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit grand larceny.

The drug den operated by Carter housed a secret marijuana growing operation.

Two 18-year-old acquaintances of Moore set the robbery in motion by telling him about Carter; Robert M. Perez drove Moore and Greene to Lanexa to check out the house the day before the robbery attempt.

John W. Chaffin and Perez told Moore he could find "pillowcases full" of dope at Carter's, and a deal was struck to share proceeds of the heist.

This month, Chaffin and Perez pleaded guilty to attempted petit larceny.

Perez received a suspended 12-month sentence and Chaffin is serving six months. Chaffin was sent directly to jail after testing positive for cocaine.

All of the young men involved were 18 at the time of the offense.

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or .