A Lynchburg man will spend 19 years in prison after robbing and shooting a man during a drug deal after being sentenced on Wednesday, according to Commonwealth's Attorney of Lynchburg.
Aja Thompson was sentenced in Lynchburg Circuit Court for aggravated malicious wounding, robbery, use of a gun in the commission of a felony and grand larceny of a car.
Thompson met with the man he shot on July 28, 2017, in the 1000 block of Price Street, to sell marijuana to the victim, and the man and Thompson did not know each other previously, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
The commonwealth's attorney said that when the man arrived, Thompson got into the man's car, took out a gun and proceeded to rob him,
When the victim tried to take out his gun for protection, Thompson shot the man in the face and fled the scene, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
According to the release, the victim spent several weeks in the University of Virginia hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries to his head and leg.
The man now has a rod in his leg and his eye will not close. The injuries have affected his ability to work, according to the man's testimony.
While Thompson was avoiding arrest for the events of July 28, 2017, he entered a family's home in October after dark and stole a car from the driveway, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
Thompson was arrested on Nov. 2, 2017, while in possession of the stolen car.
In later interviews, Thompson admitted that he arranged the meeting with the man he shot with the intention of robbing him, and he admitted to shooting the victim. Thompson also confessed to breaking into the home.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the commonwealth did not charge Thompson with burglary.
Thompson was sentenced to a total of 53 years in prison, or 34 years if he can sustain 30 years of good behavior, 24 months of supervised probation and payment of over $503,525 to the man he robbed and shot.