JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — The suspect identified in the Oct. 5 road rage incident in James City County has been formally charged with 24 offenses related to the incident, according to a press release.
44-year-old Joseph Paul Adams of Surry County was taken into custody after allegedly shooting at a vehicle carrying three people.
Adams was driving a red Toyota Solara, that was traveling on Centerville Road toward John Tyler Highway when he fired multiple shots at a vehicle that turned from Centerville Road onto Monticello Avenue.
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, James City County Police and Fire Departments responded to reports about the shooting.
When they arrived at the scene, they found the victims' vehicle had come to a stop near the Monticello Avenue and Greensprings Plantation Drive intersection.
It was then that first responders began lifesaving medical treatment for the two victims, a woman and a child.
The woman was airlifted to VCU Medical Center via LifeEvac with life-threatening injuries, and the juvenile was transported by ground to Riverside Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said they quickly learned Adams fled the scene of the shooting and his vehicle was aboard the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry headed to Surry County. When the ferry docked, the Surry County Sheriff’s Office took Adams into custody without incident.
Adams was initially arrested for DUI and transported to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
On Sunday, Oct. 6, police formally charged Joseph Paul Adams with 24 offenses related to the Oct. 5 shooting incident.
The charges are as follows:
- Two counts of Aggravated Malicious Wounding
- Three counts of Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony
- Five counts of Reckless Handling of a Firearm
- One count of Driving Under the Influence
- Five counts of Shooting at a Vehicle
- Five counts of Shooting from a Vehicle
- Three counts of Brandishing a Firearm