LAWSUIT BOMBSHELLS

LUNENBURG SHOOTING VICTIM FACES LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

On the day she was shot multiple times — Sunday afternoon, Feb. 8th — Heather Burrow was worried and frightened by Aaron Stokes’ emotional state.

She called Kenbridge Police Chief Christopher Wallace and asked him for an officer to be present when she drove to Stokes’ residence to pick-up their one-year-old daughter.

Chief Wallace declined, reportedly telling Ms. Burrow, “I don’t want to get involved.”

Those claims and other bombshell allegations are the basis of a $143.7 million lawsuit filed by Ms. Burrow against the Town of Kenbridge and its Police Chief, Christopher Wallce.

CHIEF TIPS-OFF STOKES

Chief Wallace, however, allegedly did get involved and informed Stokes about Ms. Burrows’ request.

“Stokes called Ms. Burrow back immediately,” the lawsuit claims, “furious. He said, ‘Why the (expletive) are you calling other people and involving them in our business?’”

ASKED HER TO CHURCH

Earlier that day, according to the suit, Stokes repeatedly had urged Ms. Burrow to join him and their daughter at church and to have lunch afterwards.

Ms. Burrow, who had left Stokes two months earlier and filed for child custody, declined each time.

“Stokes’ inability to compel Ms. Burrow’s compliance — coming after her permanent departure from the relationship, the initiation of custody proceedings, and the approaching custody hearing — represented a continuing and accelerating loss of control over her,” the suit alleges.

‘COLD ANGER’

The lawsuit further claims, “After church, Stokes became increasingly agitated that Ms. Burrow would not see him. He called multiple times, demanding to know what she was doing…. Stokes’ behavior rapidly shifted between manipulation and cold anger. In one call, he said, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ as though he intended to harm himself. When Ms. Burrow did not capitulate, he called back minutes later in a completely different tone — cold, angry, and demanding. This rapid oscillation between feigned despair and cold rage was consistent with the documented pattern of escalating manipulation Stokes had employed throughout the relationship, including prior express threats to kill Ms. Burrow.”

FACETIMED HER SISTER

The suit includes chilling claims about the fateful afternoon. “Ms. Burrow drove to Stokes’ residence on Sugar Hill Road. She called her sister on FaceTime and placed the phone in her car’s sun visor so that Stokes could not see it or confiscate it — a precaution born from Stokes’ pattern of seizing her communication devices after every violent episode. She told her sister to ‘mute’ her end so Stokes would not hear the call, but her sister could hear everything.”

The narrative of alleged events outlined in the suit continues, “Ms. Burrow parked at the top of Stokes’ driveway near his mother’s house….Ms. Burrow did not get out of her vehicle. She remained in her car — facing outward toward the road — positioned to leave quickly. Stokes asked for Ms. Burrow to come inside multiple times. She refused each time, telling him she was just there to pick-up their daughter.”

“Stokes came outside carrying their daughter in a child seat,” the suit claims. “Rather than bringing their daughter to Ms. Burrow’s vehicle, he placed their child in the rear passenger side of his own black Toyota Camry. He did so without taking the time to properly buckle their daughter’s car seat. Ms. Burrow asked Stokes what he was doing and told him she was there to pick-up their daughter. Stokes told her he was going to drive their daughter to Ms. Burrow’s home himself, despite her being present to take the child. When Ms. Burrow asked again, Stokes shook his head and said nothing. He walked around the back of his car and got into the driver’s seat.”

“The two vehicles were 10-15 feet apart, at a slight angle, with their driver’s sides facing each other. Both driver’s side windows were down.”

OPENS FIRE

It was then, according to the suit, when “Ms. Burrow looked over and saw Stokes pointing a handgun at her. Ms. Burrow described the look in his eyes as ‘pure hatred.’ Stokes opened fire. He shot Ms. Burrow approximately 10 times at a distance of 10-15 feet. Their infant daughter was in the back seat of Stokes’ vehicle. Ms. Burrow threw herself across the passenger seat as the bullets struck her. She was hit primarily in her left arm from the elbow up, with bullets tearing through to her back.

“When the shots stopped — Stokes pausing either to reload or because the magazine was empty — Ms. Burrow slammed on the gas pedal while still ducked across the passenger seat and drove out of the driveway. She did not look both ways onto the road. She had to get out.”

SISTER HEARD SHOTS

The suit claims that Stokes then pursued Ms. Burrow in his vehicle with their daughter still inside. Ms. Burrow pulled her phone from the visor and screamed to her sister: ‘He shot me. He shot me. He (expletive) shot me. I am bleeding out.’ Her sister had heard the gunshots over FaceTime. She hung-up and called 911.”

While bleeding, Ms. Burrow also called 911 using Siri while driving with one functional hand, according to the suit. “The first words out of her mouth were: ‘Aaron Stokes shot me. If I’m going to die, somebody’s going to know who did this.’”

“Ms. Burrow told the dispacher that Stokes had their daughter and was still chasing her. She drove toward Kenbridge Emergency Squad building” on Rt. 138. “She was aware that Stokes monitored police scanners and told dispatchers not to broadcast her location on the radio…Stokes pursued Ms. Burrow along Sugar Hill Road onto Fletcher Chapel Road. At some point before Ms. Burrow” reached Rt. 138, “Stokes brokeoff the pursuit. Ms. Burrow arrived at the emergency squad building and laid on her horn until personnel came outside. As they opened the door to assist her, Chief Christopher Wallace pulled-up on scene. Wallace asked what happened. Ms. Burrow told him, ‘He shot me.’ Wallace asked, ‘Who?’ Ms. Burrow responded, ‘Aaron shot me. I asked you for help and you didn’t help me.’”

The suit further alleges, “Ms. Burrow told everyone at the scene that Stokes still had their daughter and she did not know where he was or where the baby was. Despite her repeated pleas, no one immediately located the child. Their daughter was missing for several hours before she was recovered.”

DEPT. WEAPON?

The suit goes on to state that “upon information and belief, Stokes used his departmentissued service firearm to shoot Ms. Burrow…The weapon appeared to Ms. Burrow to be consistent in size with the .40 caliber handguns carried by Kenbridge Police Department officers. Stokes was also two hours from the start of his duty shift at the time of the shooting… Regardless of whether the specific weapon used was department issued, the Town’s entrustment of law enforcement authority, concealed carry authorization, and normalized access to firearms to Stokes — a person it knew to be a violent domestic abuser — was grossly negligent and was a proximate cause of Ms. Burrow’s injuries… The Town’s negligent entrustment is not shielded by sovereign immunity.”