CHRISTOPHER SHORES LettersHe wasfromfour-years-old last Courier-DecemberRecord readerswhen wounded Fromby blastPagefrom4 9mm pistol
MOM FACING JURY TRIAL IN JANUARY
An appeal has led to fewer months behind bars for the owner of a loaded, unattended handgun that discharged last December and wounded a fouryear old boy.
Lee Anthony Winslow, 29, of Blackstone, this past Monday in Circuit Court received a reduced sentence of 12 months with nine months suspended, for an active term of three months.
Back in May, Winslow pleaded No Contest in Nottoway Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court to a misdemeanor charge of Leaving Gun Loaded/ Endangering a Child Less Than 14 Years of Age. Judge Cheryl Wilson sentenced Winslow to 12 months in jail with six months suspended, for an active term of six months.
Winslow appealed to Circuit Court and was represented Monday by attorney Bradley Foster of Hawthorne & Hawthorne. Judge Joseph Teefey reduced Winslow’s active sentence to three months.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 a.m. Saturday morning, Dec. 7th, at a residence on Wilson Road where Winslow and the victim’s mother had recently moved. The child apparently grabbed Winslow’s loaded, 9 mm pistol.
The victim, little Christopher Shores, was wounded in the lower left abdomen by a blast from Winslow’s 9 mm handgun. The bullet exited his rear left hip area and didn’t hit any vital organs. He suffered a fractured hip, spent two days in the hospital, and continues to recover and is doing well, his father Chris recently told the Courier-Record. In fact, Christopher appeared on our front page in August in one of several “back to school” photos from Blackstone Primary School.
Defendant Winslow was ordered Monday by Judge Teefey to report to Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville by 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 10th. The Court authorized work release.
Judge Teefey also ordered that there are to be no firearms in the household for one year.
The boy’s mother, 25-yearold Zoe Brianna Shores, remains charged with Child Neglect. A jury trial in her case is set for January 21, 2026. She’s being represented by defense attorney Jordan Dalton.
The boy’s father, Chris Shores, told the Courier Record last December that in addition to his four-year-old son being inside the residence, also present were his three-year-old son, Luke, and another toddler. Chris Shores, who at the time of the incident was living at another location, wasn’t present at the time of the shooting.
Winslow reportedly had left the residence, and co-defendant Ms. Shores was in another room when the gun discharged.
It’s unclear what led to the gun being discharged. Most accounts indicate that the loaded gun had been left on a counter, the child got his hands on it, and the weapon discharged.
Shortly after the incident last year, defendants Winslow and Ms. Shores visited the Courier Record newspaper office.
Asked during that December visit if either had any comments — not about specifics of the case but about general public reaction, which was scathing by some on social media — Winslow offered: “One thing I’m gonna say is that people need to take this as a lesson and learn from it — instead of bashing an accident.”
Ms. Shores agreed. “Things happen. Accidents happen. I did not know a gun was there.” She also called her son and his survival “a miracle.” Both expressed gratitude for swift response by first responders.
Loading Comments