Ex-Virginia officer Charles Stokes gets nearly 15 years for shooting mother of his child

RICHMOND, Va. — A former Kenbridge, Virginia, police officer who shot the mother of his child 10 times will serve nearly 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to six charges in relation to the February 2026 shooting.

Charles Stokes was officially sentenced to 74 years total in prison, with all but 14 years and 8 months suspended.

Heather Burrow, who survived the shooting, was frustrated with the lack of prison time, according to a report in The Courier-Record.

Watch: Virginia woman shot by former Kenbridge officer speaks out

She previously named the Town of Kenbridge and its police chief in a nearly $144 million civil lawsuit alleging the chief failed to protect her after she reached out to him for help due to Stokes before the shooting.

"I have flashbacks of the incident, and I can see him pointing the gun at me all over again. The nightmares I have make me relive the incident, too," she said in her victim impact statement published in The Courier-Record. "I can’t drive by a vehicle without thinking the other person is going to shoot me. And I can even feel the bullet that they left in my shoulder."

Burrow said the day of the shooting began with schoolwork and caring for her daughter.

She said Stokes repeatedly sent her concerning messages, asking her to come to church and get lunch with him and their daughter.

When she declined, she said he asked her to come pick up their daughter.

When she arrived at Stokes' house, she said she watched him place their daughter in his car instead of hers. Moments later, she said he pulled out a gun.

"The next thing I knew, there was glass shattering, and I could hear the gun going off, and I had managed to throw myself towards the passenger seat, I had my seat belt on, but I threw myself towards the passenger seat and just huddled over the center console, and I just remember pain," Burrow said in a June 2026 interview with WTVR.

Burrow, who also once served as a Kenbridge police officer, said the shooting came after months of abuse, manipulation and fear during her relationship with Stokes.

"If he had succeeded and killed me, then my daughter would be an orphan. And I can’t imagine what he would have done to her if he had succeeded," her victim impact statement continued. "As an officer of the law, Aaron knew better, and yet he still went through with this atrocious act unbecoming of an officer. I understand that there are state guidelines when it comes to sentencing, but as an officer that was a few short hours from being on duty when he shot me, I feel that he should be held to a higher standard. Because I know in my heart that if given the opportunity, he will finish what he started."

The Courier-Record reported Stokes "avoided eye contact with Ms. Burrow as she sat 10 feet directly in front of him and read her victim impact statement."

Stokes was officially sentenced to 74 years total in prison, with all but 14 years and 8 months suspended.