A Norfolk man who opened fire into a Calvert Square home in 2024, wounding a woman in the leg while her 5-year-old child was inside, has been sentenced to six years in prison. Rico Lavar Lindsey, 34, was ordered on July 2 to serve the time behind bars, with an additional seven years suspended.
Lindsey pleaded guilty in February to malicious wounding, shooting into an occupied dwelling, and child endangerment, agreeing to a deal that capped his prison exposure at six years, according to 13News Now. Once he's released, he'll still have to complete one year of supervised probation followed by three years of good behavior.
A Visitor at the Door, Then Gunfire
The shooting happened on October 4, 2024, when the woman answered her front door for an acquaintance who had come by the home. Lindsey appeared behind that visitor and opened fire into the house, striking the woman in her right leg while her young child was inside. The child was not hurt.
The station's report notes that the woman recognized her shooter immediately — she had known Lindsey since childhood. Rather than staying down, she crawled to her own gun and fired back, and Lindsey ran off. Police later found him walking nearby on Bagnall Road and took him into custody.
Bullet Holes Through the Screen Door and Refrigerator
Investigators who processed the scene found several bullet holes punched through the home's screen door. One round went further, passing through an interior wall and striking the refrigerator — a detail that underscores how close the gunfire came to anyone standing inside the house, including the child.
Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi, whose office prosecuted the case, said he was glad the woman survived and that her child was not injured. Fatehi also commented more broadly on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, saying mixing guns with alcohol leads to no good outcomes and that there are many reasons people convicted of felonies should not be allowed to possess firearms. He added that his prosecutors will continue focusing on the people driving violence in the city.
Calvert Square's Recent History of Gun Violence
The neighborhood has seen repeated violence in the time since Lindsey's shooting. A March 2025 shooting at the Calvert Square housing community left 37-year-old Terrance D. Moore dead, and detectives later arrested 32-year-old Tayquan O. Gallop on a charge of second-degree murder, as The Virginian-Pilot reported. A shooting near Calvert Square killed a 56-year-old man on October 30, 2025.
