HENRICO, Va. (WRIC) — A woman who admits she shot a Virginia State Trooper because she didn’t want to go to jail will now spend decades in prison.
On Tuesday, a Henrico judge sentenced Karisa Daniels to 46 years behind bars.
The 23-year-old shot Senior Trooper C.A. Putnam in the arm last September after he tried to pull her over for speeding.
Daniels led him on a pursuit that ended in a neighborhood cul de sac.
“I turned around and I shot him and that is the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life,” Daniels told 8News Reporter Kristin Smith during a jailhouse interview less than 24 hours after the crime.
“I was under the influence and I was extremely high,” Daniels explained, “You know just sitting in here today, I’m like what have I done.”
Senior Trooper Putnam described his injuries to the judge. Doctors had to put a metal plate in his arm and a pin in his wrist. Possible loose bullet fragments around the wound may require a third operation.
The 14-year Virginia State Police veteran hasn’t been able to return to work. He says the injuries could end his career.
The trooper broke down when the Commonwealth’s Attorney asked how the shooting impacted him. He explained it is physically challenging for him to pick up and hold his two toddlers. He also suffers from paranoia and flashbacks from that night.
“The crime itself was absolutely horrible,” acknowledges defense attorney Russ Stone.
He asked the judge to consider Daniels’ history of mental health problems and drug addiction. She was treated on and off for years by a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Stone also also pointed out that Daniels suffered the devastating loss of her twin infants several years earlier. After that, her mother testified, her daughter grew depressed and began to self-medicate.
Daniels sobbed and was in near hysterics as she apologized to Trooper Putnam.
“I don’t do things like this,” she cried, “This is not who I am.”
At a minimum, her attorney says Daniels will serve close to 40 years of that sentence which is far less than the life sentence the Commonwealth’s suggested.
“I felt with her background mental health issues and drug issues that life is not an appropriate penalty for something like that,” adds Stone.