NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A man has been sentenced to 29 years in prison for his role in a 2019 shooting and robbery spree that left two people injured and one woman dead.
On Friday, a judge sentenced 23-year-old Andre Brinkley to 50 years in prison with 24 years suspended for first-degree murder, five years with all years suspended for unlawful wounding, 10 years with all years suspended for robbery, five years with all years suspended for destruction of property, three years for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and 12 months with all months suspended for discharging a firearm in public.
This leaves Brinkley 29 active years to serve in prison.
His suspended sentences are conditioned upon 25 years of uniform good behavior and a period of indeterminate supervised probation after his release.
The sequence of events took place on May 8, 2019 starting around 8 p.m. when Brinkley approached two men outside of their home on Ashlawn Drive. Brinkley asked the two men for a lighter, to which the men responded by asking him for a $5 bill.
Brinkley became agitated and fired a gun at the men and took off with another man who was waiting for him on the side of the road.
Around 10 p.m. on the same night, Norfolk Police responded to reports of a different shooting on Nikoles Lane. Police learned from a man at the residence that he and his uncle were shot at by a man, later identified as Brinkley, who was riding on the handlebars of a bicycle.
The man who spoke with police said his uncle was shot in the foot and that he returned fire at Brinkley and the other man.
The same two men were seen on surveillance video an hour later outside the Wawa at 975 E. Little Creek Road. According to court documents, the duo carjacked 34-year-old Helena Stiglets outside of the store and Brinkley proceeded to shoot her multiple times.
After discovering he could not operate Stiglets’ vehicle because it was a manual car, Brinkley and the co-defendant parted ways.
Stiglets was sent to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Following the incident at the Wawa, Brinkley then proceeded to a 7-Eleven at 800 E. Little Creek Road and attempted to steal beer and cigarettes from the store. After an employee attempted to stop him, Brinkley dropped the beer and fired the murder weapon outside the store.
Brinkley then spotted a nearby police vehicle and attempted to flee.
After a chase, the officer and a K9 were able to take down Brinkley. Shell casings and a revolver recovered from Brinkley’s pocket matched the bullet recovered during Stinglets’ autopsy.
Back in June, Brinkley pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, unlawful wounding, robbery, destruction of property, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm in public.
