Kenny Speed of Norfolk VA: Murders, Drug Ring, and Life Sentence

Kenny Speed of Norfolk, VA — legally Larry Kenneth Speed, also known as Kenneth Richard Godfrey — is a federal prisoner serving life for leading a violent Norfolk drug trafficking organization tied to three murders. He was indicted in July 2000, convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia, and remains incarcerated as of late 2025 after every attempt to overturn or reduce his sentence has failed.¹

The Drug Ring He Ran

Speed’s organization operated in the Norfolk area from 1987 through 2001. He worked as a middleman, moving cocaine and heroin supplied by New York dealers.² Court papers called him “Uzi-toting” and described a conspiracy of five or more people involved in drug dealing, armed robberies, home invasions, shootings, and killings.¹ Prosecutors said the group was linked to a string of Norfolk murders that stopped only after the city asked federal authorities to step in.³

Speed was 33 at the time of the 2000 indictment and had a criminal record going back to age 16, with prior drug, firearm, and violent-crime charges. He had never been convicted of a felony before the federal case, in part because earlier prosecutions collapsed. A 1991 state capital murder case against him fell apart after a key witness fled the courtroom and told authorities he was too afraid to testify.²

The Three Murders

Speed was convicted of three murders committed during the conspiracy. One victim was 23-year-old Keith T. Short, killed in 1990 on East Olney Road in Norfolk.³ Another was Errol Ward, who on September 2, 1994, was shot, strangled, and stabbed by Speed and two co-conspirators, who then dumped his body on a street.¹

The violence extended beyond the killings. At least one other shooting victim was left paralyzed. In early 1995, after an associate present during Ward’s murder changed his locks, Speed beat and duct-taped the man and stole roughly $20,000 worth of furniture from his home.¹ The indictment also accused Speed of recruiting someone to set a rival’s car on fire, robbing another drug dealer at gunpoint, and sexually assaulting a woman connected to the drug trade.²

The Federal Case and Life Sentence

A federal grand jury in Norfolk indicted Speed in July 2000. The case, Criminal No. 2:00-cr-92, was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia before U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Speed was convicted of leading the drug trafficking conspiracy, and the court sentenced him to life in prison followed by five years of supervised release.¹

Every Appeal Has Failed

Since his conviction, Speed has pursued several routes to get his sentence overturned or reduced. None have worked.

Section 2255 Motion

Speed moved to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The district court denied the motion, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal on July 29, 2014.⁴

First Step Act

Speed then sought a reduction under the First Step Act of 2018. The district court found him technically eligible but declined to grant relief, acknowledging “significant evidence of post-sentencing rehabilitation” while concluding it did not outweigh “the seriousness of his past violent conduct.” The Fourth Circuit affirmed on March 9, 2021, finding no abuse of discretion.⁵

Compassionate Release

Speed has filed at least two motions for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The first was denied on April 2, 2021. By then he had served 22 years and was housed at FCI Petersburg Medium. The court found he remained “a risk to the community,” citing his extensive record.¹ A second motion was denied by the district court on March 21, 2025. On November 24, 2025, the Fourth Circuit affirmed in a per curiam opinion, concluding the lower court had properly weighed the sentencing factors.⁶

Where He Is Now

As of November 2025, Speed remains in federal custody serving concurrent life sentences. He has no projected release date, and the most recent ruling — the Fourth Circuit’s November 2025 affirmance — closed off the latest of a long series of failed challenges.⁶

1
CaseMine. Larry Kenneth Speed v. United States
2
Daily Press. Datelines: Stannardsville/Norfolk
3
The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk Officials Divided on Felon’s Appointment to City Agency
4
Justia. United States v. Larry Kenneth Speed, No. 14-6494
5
FindLaw. United States v. Speed, No. 20-6753
6
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. United States v. Larry Kenneth Speed, No. 25-6277