VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A North Carolina man was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison after being found guilty of shooting his girlfriend in a Virginia Beach hotel that left her with life-altering injuries.
53-year-old Garvin Louis Andrews, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced Monday by Circuit Court Judge James C. Lewis for charges of Aggravated Malicious Wounding and Use of a Firearm.
The judge sentenced Andrews to 23 years in prison with 13 years suspended, leaving ten years to serve.
Andrews pled guilty to the charges in July 2020.
Officials say had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth’s evidence would have proven that on February 23, 2019, Andrews shot his girlfriend at the Hyatt House hotel on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.
According to court documents, the couple was visiting from North Carolina. Officials say they were drinking at the hotel bar and later they got into an argument in their hotel room. They say Andrews then shot his girlfriend three times in the elevator bay.
Court documents say other hotel guests heard the gunshots and looked to see what happened. When one guest opened his hotel room door, Andrews said to him, “Call the cops, I just shot the b***h.” The guest closed his door and called 911.
Another witness says they also heard Andrews say, “I shot the b***h” and went to render aid to the girlfriend.
When police arrived, Andrews was on the phone, and the gun was recovered on the floor approximately ten feet from him.
Police say Andrews admitted to shooting the woman three times. They say he smelled of alcohol and leaned against the wall for balance. In an interview with detectives shortly thereafter, Andrews stated that he just “flipped out” and that the gun jammed after the third shot. Police say he admitted to pulling out the clip and trying to fix it.
The woman was shot in her upper right torso and lower abdomen. She had multiple surgeries and sustained permanent, life-altering injuries.
