What to Know
- A jury convicted Derek Sprouse in the shooting of a store clerk during a robbery in March 2014.
- The judge imposed the jury recommendation of two life sentences plus eight years immediately at the defense's request.
- The clerk survived being shot in the head but bears a scar where the bullet left her jaw.
The man convicted of shooting a Virginia convenience store clerk in the head four years ago was sentenced to two life sentences plus eight years.
A jury found Derek Sprouse guilty Thursday of aggravated malicious wounding, robbery and use of firearm in the commission of a felony. The jury recommended the sentence, and the defense asked the judge to impose it right away instead of setting a later date for sentencing.
Sprouse shot Kelly Wood as she turned to get something for him in a Fas Mart in Spotsylvania in March 2014, investigators said. After grabbing a case of ephedrine, he shot her a second time as he fled the scene.
When she took the stand Monday, 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, who still bears a scar on her jaw from where the bullet exited her head, identified Sprouse as the man who shot her.
The defense argued it was a case of mistaken identity, saying the security video resulted in more than 100 possible suspects and Wood identified another man in a photo lineup.
Sprouse was arrested in North Carolina almost 14 months after the shooting.
He is serving time in North Carolina for armed robbery and wanted to get back to prison there, his lawyer said. He'll finish that term before returning to Virginia.
