ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ A Roanoke man who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a toddler has been sentenced to life in prison. 26-year-old Warner Lovings Hunter III was sentenced Thursday for first-degree murder in the July death of 23-month-old Aryah Leigh Lipford. Hunter also received an additional 38 years for shooting and injuring the child’s mother, Rachael Quesenberry, outside Hunter’s home. Prosecutors say Quesenberry had borrowed Hunter’s car with the understanding she would return it after a day or two. She kept it for a week. When she returned the car to Hunter, they argued and he opened fire, striking Lipford and Quesenberry. Hunter pleaded guilty to several charges in September. The pleas allowed him to avoid a capital murder charge.
