I-64 shooter gets 15 years prison time

Domenico D’Auria and his family were asleep in their Greenwood Station Road home the night of March 26-27, 2008, when they were awakened by a loud noise.

After not being able to find the source of the noise that night, the family later discovered bullet holes near the front door, not far from their young son’s bedroom. D’Auria said his son, who was 4 at the time, can no longer sleep alone.

Julia Diggs was driving home to Waynesboro in the wee hours of March 27, 2008, on Interstate 64. Diggs, who had just gotten off work at GE Fanuc, said she was surprised to see a light on the Route 690 overpass that she was approaching. As she slowed down to see what was going on, Diggs said she heard a pop and felt pain on the left side of her back.

A panicked Diggs called 911, trying to tell the operator what happened as she kept driving.

“Someone shot at me over the old bridge,” Diggs told the operator.

At first, authorities thought the bullets were part of a gang initiation. A D.C. sniper copycat theory also was ruled out. The actual suspects were two teenagers armed with a .22 Ruger rifle, a case of beer and an orange 1974 AMC Gremlin.

135 years suspended

The driver of the Gremlin and older of the two boys, Slade Allen Woodson, was sentenced Tuesday to a 15-year active prison sentence in Albemarle County Circuit Court. Judge Cheryl Higgins suspended 135 years of the sentence.

During a nearly seven-hour sentencing hearing, people who have interacted with Woodson shared details about his life. Dr. Jeffrey Aaron, a clinical psychologist who evaluated Woodson about a year ago, testified in court that Woodson grew up in a supportive family with his parents and two sisters.

As a boy, Aaron said in court, Woodson had an articulation problem and a bone disorder that held him back from being involved in some activities. He later became a successful pole-vaulter in high school and had good grades until he was expelled after being charged with arson for setting a neighbor’s truck on fire.

At home, Aaron said in court, Woodson felt close to his father and looked to him for guidance. However, Woodson told Aaron that his father drank a lot and would sometimes say hurtful things. Woodson’s mother testified Tuesday that alcoholism was a problem on both sides of the family.

Aside from a few sips of alcohol when he was younger, Woodson started drinking occasionally when he was 12 years old, Aaron testified Tuesday. The psychologist said in court that Woodson tended to drink infrequently but consumed a lot of alcohol at once. Certain events, such as the end of a years-long relationship with a girlfriend, increased how much Woodson drank.

Aaron said in court that Woodson told him that he had a high tolerance for alcohol and could function normally. Woodson told Aaron that he typically consumed 12 to 18 beers at one time. While Woodson was drunk, Aaron testified, he would drive 100 mph or more, shoot at stop signs and other inanimate objects and go mud bogging.

‘Stupid stuff’

“What he described is a sense that [the night of the incident] was like other nights — going out and doing stupid stuff,” Aaron said in court.

Authorities have said then-19-year-old Woodson and his girlfriend’s then-16-year-old brother, Brandon Dawson, were working on Woodson’s car when they got frustrated. The pair reportedly got a 24-pack of beer from an older friend before driving around Albemarle County and drinking, authorities said Tuesday.

The .22 Ruger belonged to Woodson’s employer, who later reported it stolen. Authorities said Woodson fired the first shot at a deer. Targets included three houses, including D’Auria’s home, utility equipment and vehicles passing by the Route 690 overpass and at the Ivy exit on I-64. Two people, including Diggs, were slightly injured in the shootings.

Aaron testified that Woodson told him that Dawson fired most, but not all, of the shots at cars, homes and other targets that night. Dawson has admitted to firing one shot off the overpass and two shots at houses.

Since entering jail, Woodson has earned a GED and a high school diploma. Defense attorney Jessica Smith said Woodson has earned multiple Bible study certificates, attended a substance abuse education class and acted as an assistant in an English as a Second Language class at the jail.

During court Tuesday, Woodson’s former employer, pole vaulting coach and others testified to his willingness to work hard and his good nature. The only person who said in court she knew Woodson had been using alcohol was his mother, but she testified that she had only smelled it on him a few times — after which Woodson received lectures — and had gotten a call from his now-ex girlfriend about Woodson’s alcohol usage.

Restitution

Woodson also was sentenced Tuesday to pay about $12,000 in restitution and have two years of supervised release. Higgins ordered that Woodson’s Albemarle sentence would run concurrently with a two-year prison sentence from Waynesboro, where Woodson bought ammunition at Wal-Mart and fired shots at a credit union, sign and van before heading back to Albemarle.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford said after court that she requested a 20-year active sentence because of how the shooting incident affected the community. I-64 was shut down for several hours during the morning of March 27 and Albemarle public schools were closed that day.

Defense attorney Smith said after court that she requested a sentence between eight and 10 years because Woodson didn’t intend to instill fear into the community. Smith said Woodson took the sentence hard, but has changed his life in jail and intends to take advantage of programs in state prison.

Dawson, now 17, was sentenced to a 180-day intensive program at the Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center after an appeal about a year ago. Authorities removed him from the program in the fall due to a violation and placed him in the state juvenile system. Dawson, who appeared in juvenile court last month to have the remaining I-64 charges dismissed, was out on parole from the juvenile system during that court appearance.