Suspect pleads not guilty to 2021 Onancock murder

By Linda Cicoira

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One of three suspects charged in the connection with the 2021 death of a Painter man entered pleas of not guilty to premeditated murder and related crimes Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court.

The victim, 23-year-old Nicholas Kyle Joseph, of Fooks Lane, was sitting in the driver’s seat of car in the middle of the town of Onancock when he was shot multiple times on Oct. 13, 2021. After being struck by gunfire, his car continued on Johnson Street and hit a pole at a nearby intersection. Joseph died at a hospital the next day.

Nineteen-year-old Daniel David Douglas, of Market Street in Onancock, asked that a jury hear his case. The trial will be sometime next year. Douglas was 17 years old when the incident occurred. He will be tried as an adult. Douglas pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and use of a firearm in both the murder and the robbery.

The defendant also pleaded not guilty to escaping from custody after being arrested for the initial charges. The court record states that police went to Perdue Farms, where Douglas had started working two days earlier. The defendant is alleged to have run from the poultry plant and across Lankford Highway before being apprehended. A separate trial is expected for that charge and has also not been scheduled.

According to a court document, Joseph was shot nine times in the head, face, and upper body.

Eighteen-year-old Jordan Eric Ames, of Hill Street, in Onancock, and a 15-year-old male, also from Onancock and not identified because of his age, were charged with the same crimes. Ames has also asked for a jury trial. It is set for Jan. 18.

Ames told police he had gotten out of school early and had met Joseph to buy marijuana, according to court records. His house was searched and a photo of Ames holding a handgun, an empty box of ammunition, and a .40 caliber round, were among the items that were found.