Virginia

Convenience Store Clerk Shot in Head in Virginia Testifies Against Suspect

The victim of a Virginia convenience store shooting testified in court about the night she was shot in the head four years ago, allegedly by a man now on trial for the crime.

Prosecutors played security camera video that led to the arrest of Derek Sprouse. He is accused of shooting Kelly Wood twice during a robbery of a Fas-Mart store in Spotsylvania, Virginia, in March 2014.

Investigators said Sprouse shot Wood as she turned to get something for him. After grabbing a case of ephedrine, they say he shot her a second time as he fled the scene.

Sprouse was arrested in North Carolina nearly 14 months later.

On the stand, Wood wiped away tears as her 911 call to police on that evening was played.

“I was just robbed. I was shot,” she told the dispatcher. “Help, I was shot. My head hurts so much.”

Wood still bears a scar on her jaw from where the bullet exited her head. She identified Sprouse as the man who shot her.

However, his defense attorney said during his opening statement that this is a case of mistaken identity. The attorney said the security video turned up more than 100 possible suspects, and Wood identified another man, not Sprouse, in a photo lineup.

The trial will continue Tuesday.

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