Off-Duty Virginia Officer Accused of Shooting Woman Sitting in Her Car — Now Under Arrest

An off-duty police officer was arrested for allegedly shooting a woman while she was inside a car in Lunenburg County, Virginia.

According to the Virginia State Police (VSP), Charles Aaron Stokes, 44, who is currently employed by the Town of Kenbridge Police Department, allegedly fired multiple shots into the woman’s vehicle before driving off.

On February 8, at around 2:43 p.m., law enforcement officials were notified that a woman had been shot inside a car. According to state police, it was determined that someone had shot into the woman’s vehicle multiple times because of a domestic incident. The injured woman then drove to a police station for help, from where she was taken to the nearest hospital.

As state police launched a manhunt to nab Stokes, authorities spotted his car, a black Toyota Camry, outside of a business in Henderson, N.C. However, a 2007 silver Honda Civic was also reported stolen from the same location, which authorities believe Stokes might have taken.

Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame said that since Stokes was aware that Virginia authorities were looking for the car he was driving, he went to Henderson and exchanged the vehicle.

On February 9, authorities took Stokes into custody at a residence in Kenbridge, Va.

The accused has been charged with aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is currently being held at the Meherrin River Regional Jail in Alberta, Va.

Police confirmed that Stokes was off duty at the time of the shooting.

In another incident, a man who murdered his girlfriend during a merciless attack has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years. The accused, Robert Richens, admitted to killing Rachael Vaughna at her residence in Sherwood Avenue in Abingdon, Oxfordshire on May 30, 2025.

Richens allegedly dialed 999 after committing the crime and said he had done something quite serious. As per the video footage that was played in court during the hearing, Richens can be heard saying that he has "accidentally killed someone" and that he is ashamed of what he has done.

The accused can be heard saying that he was going to miss playing the popular video game while he was in prison.

Investigation officer Stuart May said that Rachael had been killed in the same place where she felt the safest and that Richens' actions were heartless. May further said that Richens had left Rachael alone in her home, made no attempt to help her or seek medical attention and that he contacted the police only when he had nowhere to go.