NORFOLK, Va. - The second of two Accomack County defendants charged in an over $100,000 Navy copper theft case has pleaded guilty in federal court.
As WBOC first reported, federal investigators arrested Almount Gunter, a Department of Defense civilian contractor of New Church, in September of 2023 after he was caught cutting and stealing industrial cables from a Naval Station Norfolk supply yard. Authorities say he and another person were stopped while attempting to leave the base in a rented Ford F-250 loaded with high-voltage cable. Further investigation revealed that the thefts repeatedly occurred between April and September of 2023.
Federal prosecutors allege the theft scheme caused significant damage to the Navy by targeting valuable copper cables and electrical materials from the naval station.
As part of the case, Gunter’s wife Tyra Giddens, was later accused of working with her husband as part of the scheme. On Thursday, June 25, Giddens admitted to helping her husband while deliberately avoiding knowing that the scrap metal he was collecting and selling included copper stolen from Naval Station Norfolk.
“Through these and other actions, the defendant was aware of the lucrative nature of her husband’s scrapping and actively participated in aiding and abetting her husband, enjoying the financial benefits while turning a blind eye to the true source of the valuable scrap materials that the defendant and her husband sold for a profit,” a statement of facts filed on Thursday and obtained by WBOC reads.
According to the statement of facts, Giddens rented the truck used in the theft and had rented 21 trucks over a nine-month period for a combined cost of more than $15,000. Investigators also say records from a Richmond recycling business showed Giddens and Gunter sold more than 60,000 pounds of copper and other materials between May and October 2023, receiving more than $147,000 in cash.
The statement says Giddens maintained two recycling accounts using different names and continued selling copper to the recycling facility even after Gunter's arrest and the seizure of the rental truck.
Giddens has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property as part of an agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In exchange for the plea, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining charges against her at sentencing.
According to the plea agreement, Giddens faces up to 10 years in prison, though prosecutors and the defense jointly recommended that she receive no active jail time. The agreement also requires her to pay full restitution, with the amount to be determined by the court.
A sentencing hearing for Giddens has been scheduled for Sept. 25 in Norfolk. Gunter, who also pleaded guilty in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
