Narendra R. Pleas is a candidate for Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney and is running as a Democrat. Her name will appear on the November 4, 2025 General Election ballot. Please, the incumbent, is running against Patrick L. Bales.
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10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. The bio is unedited; this is what the candidate submitted. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
Name: Narendra R. Pleas
Age: 47
Website: pleas4suffolkva.com
Party: Democratic
Biography
Narendra Pleas was elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Suffolk in 2021. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she moved with her family to Virginia Beach and graduated from Green Run High School and the Governor’s School for the Arts (music). Ms. Pleas earned her B.A. from Agnes Scott College in Political Science and Psychology and earned her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law (Indianapolis) and returned to Virginia to pursue her legal career. Ms. Pleas worked in the law office of Thomas and Associates in Virginia Beach before beginning her career as a prosecutor. When offered the opportunity to accept a position as a prosecutor, Ms. Pleas began work in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for the City of Emporia/Greensville County, before then working in three additional prosecutorial offices: Sussex County and the cities of Suffolk and Norfolk. Though she is currently seeking re-election for the position of Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Suffolk, since taking office, Ms. Pleas has made numerous positive changes to the prosecutorial landscape in the City of Suffolk. Most notably, in conjunction with other community stakeholders, Ms. Pleas has helped to create a Behavioral Health Docket; which connects individuals with mental health challenges to appropriate treatment, offering a path toward stability and reduced recidivism. Ms. Pleas also established the Environmental Justice Initiative in the City of Suffolk. This Initiative expands enforcement efforts and focuses on holding violators accountable for environmental harm, reinforcing the city’s commitment to safe, healthy communities. Ms. Pleas secured a grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services which provided funding for an additional prosecutor and legal assistant to begin their Operation Ceasefire program – a coordinated strategy to reduce gun violence, in conjunction with law enforcement, community partners, and intervention programs to target the drivers of violent crime in the community. Ms. Pleas has a love for service. Some of her past work includes serving on the Board of the YMCA of Emporia-Greensville for several years, with two of those years as co-chair of the board. She acquired her Emergency Medical Technician certification and volunteered as an E.M.T. for the Greensville Volunteer Rescue Squad as a general member; serving two years as Treasurer of GVRS. Ms. Pleas was the Youth Group Leader for Thalia Trinity Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach and served as an Area Representative for the foreign exchange program Youth for Understanding. In Suffolk, Ms. Pleas has served on the Board of the Salvation Army and worked as a volunteer for Coalition Against Poverty – Suffolk (C.A.P.S.). She currently serves as a volunteer for the Western Tidewater Medical Reserve Corps and sits on the Board of the Suffolk Art League. Ms. Pleas has opened her home to exchange students who chose to attend school in Suffolk. Her “kids” have come from Mali, Tanzania, China, Bahrain, and Pakistan. In her spare time, Ms. Pleas loves to spend time with her family and friends and serves in the music ministry at Great Bridge Presbyterian Church in Chesapeake.
If you are elected, what will be your top priority in office?
Our top priorities are:
Once re-elected, my office will continue efforts to eliminate gun violence in the City of Suffolk via our Operation Ceasefire program. This program, working with various law enforcement agencies, has aided in reducing violent crime and gun violence in the City using a focused-deterrent model. While we have presented the largest number of indictments to Suffolk grand juries during my tenure; we are prosecuting fewer defendants, as we are focused on individuals who are connected to crimes which perpetuate violence or other criminal activity.
As the only City in Hampton Roads without pre-trial services, we will continue to push for the establishment of pre-trial services in Suffolk. Pretrial would provide judges and magistrates with two very important tools. The first is being provided with verified information when determining whether persons charged with certain offenses and awaiting trial should be held in jail pending trial or released. The second is that if the person is a candidate for release, pre-trial would provide supervision of the individual pending trial. As it currently sits in Suffolk, judges and magistrates are provided scant information to aid in making decisions about who should be released pending trial and there is very rarely oversight, if any at all, of an individual released on bond. In localities with pre-trial, an individual pending trial can be monitored to ensure they are reporting to work/school, are compliant with a curfew, stay alcohol or drug free, or whatever else may be ordered by the judge.
We will also continue to expand our recently launched Environmental Justice Initiative. Since its launch this summer, we have charged several cases with additional cases currently under investigation.
What is the most important change the General Assembly should make to the criminal justice system?
The General Assembly should pursue legislation aimed at providing prosecutors’ offices with the technology and staffing needed to provide a more expedient and efficient system of criminal justice; such as funding technology solutions to reduce man hours needed to process cases and providing more judges to handle the barrage of jury trials we now handle.
What is your philosophy on plea agreements? Are there cases when you think they are not appropriate?
As a line prosecutor, and now as the elected, we have always understood that plea agreements were a part of the criminal justice system. We have regularly used them in every jurisdiction in which I have served and the vast majority of cases in the criminal justice system are resolved by plea agreement. To understand plea agreements, you must understand that they are negotiated contracts; meaning there is give and take on both sides. Think about maybe when you bought your home, you may have had negotiations back and forth with the seller. The concept is the same. For us, there are numerous factors considered in plea negotiations, such as the age of the victim, the age of the defendant, the criminal history of the defendant, the seriousness of the crime, the amount of harm caused to a victim, the ability of a victim to provide testimony, etc. There is no bright line rule for a plea agreement and as every case is different, you must consider a case in its entirety; though we do have policies in place to promote parity. There are times when one side, or both, are unable to make concessions. As such, yes, there are absolutely cases in which a plea agreement is not appropriate.
