Charges dropped against Russell, Lewis in Eastville shooting; Tayloe and Stevens’ head to Grand Jury

A grand jury will hear changes against two Northampton County men accused in an incident involving gunshots and motorcycles while driving through downtown Eastville on Jan. 22, a General District judge ruled Thursday.

Charges against Edward Thornton Tayloe, 45, of Cheriton, and Michael Leonard Stevens, 31, of Cape Charles, were certified to a a grand jury by Judge Gordon Vincent after a preliminary hearing.

Testimony during the hearing showed a motorcycle that fit the description of one used in the incident was found in Stevens’ garage and 9mm ammunition, the type the Commonwealth argued was used in the crime, was recovered at Tayloe’s residence.

Vincent dropped all charges against Janet Page Lewis, 53, of Exmore, and Richard Russell, age not available, of Laurel, Delaware, in connection with the incident. Vincent said he felt the burden of proof had not been met by the Commonwealth.

During the hearing, the Commonwealth’s case seemed to get off on shaky ground when Kathleen Pearson, the owner of Yuk Yuk and Joe’s, an Eastville restaurant and bar, could not remember whether Stevens was there Jan. 22.

Pearson testified she remembered seeing Tayloe and Janet Lewis because they had frequented her establishment over the years. Pearson further testified she didn’t see or hear any altercations occur inside the restaurant.

Lt. Rob Stubbs, a Northampton Sheriff’s Office investigator, testified he was contacted between 10:30 and 11 p.m.

Stubbs went to Mill Street in Cheriton to talk with the two victims, Tyler Combs and Tim Pope. He said he, along with Deputy Chris Forbes, observed bullet holes in the back of the pickup and were able to recover bullet fragments and a “mostly whole” bullet in a goose decoy.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton showed body camera footage of his initial conversations with Stevens and Tayloe. Both declined to comment on the events.

Charles “Chip” Lewis was called to testify, but his lawyer said because they had learned Lewis was still under investigation in this case, he would be invoking his 5th Amendment right to abstain from testifying.

Original charges in connection with the incident against Lewis, 45, of Accomac, were nolle processed Feb. 4.

When Combs and Pope took the stand, the only person out of the group of individuals they could identify was Janet Lewis.

“The rest looked familiar, but I didn’t commit their faces to memory,” said Combs.

Credit card receipts from Yuks were obtained to place Stevens, Tayloe, Russell and Charles Lewis at the restaurant that evening.

Pope had come to the Eastern Shore after work that Friday to go duck hunting the following morning with Combs. After they had eaten dinner, they went to Yuk Yuk and Joe’s. Both testified they were there for less than two hours.

All witnesses agreed nothing occurred inside the restaurant. The group, some of whom were wearing “outlaw motorcycle gang-style clothing” walked outside the restaurant approximately 20 minutes before Combs and Pope did.

When the two exited the restaurant, Pope seemed to think the congregated group was “staring us down” and at least one was “giving us the finger.”

The two got into Pope’s GMC Sierra pickup, with Combs driving, and proceeded to leave, heading south on Courthouse Road.

Combs testified he thought the group had all lined up and were giving them “the finger” as they passed.

When pressed by the defense, Combs said he couldn’t remember if he had returned the obscene gesture as he left.

At this point, “for a reason we may never know,” according to Thornton, the group proceeded to get on two motorcycles and in two vehicles.

Combs testified he saw headlights behind them as they got to Northampton High School.

One motorcycle pulled up along the driver’s side and tried to get the truck to pull over.

A second one proceeded to pass the truck on the passenger side, get in front of the truck, and hit the breaks in an effort to get the truck to stop, according to testimony.

As they neared the southern edge of Eastville, Combs and Pope heard shots ring out. Once onto the highway, Combs testified he saw the SUV involved flash the lights and the two motorcycles pulled off into the Cheriton QuikMart, followed by the first SUV and then one minute later by a second SUV.

Neither Combs nor Pope could identify who was driving the motorcycles nor who was driving the SUV.

They remembered the colors of the motorcycles and that one had “ape hanger” handle bars, which sit higher than factory bars.

Video surveillance footage from a residence next door to Yuk Yuk and Joe’s showed what was identified as Pope’s truck leaving, followed by two motorcycles and two SUVS, but the footage was unable to show who was driving which vehicle.

Similarly, the security footage from the Cheriton QuikMart showed two motorcycles pulling in with an SUV and the second one a minute later, but no identifications could be made.

Stubbs testified the video appeared to show an SUV he found consistent with an SUV owned by “the Russell family” and the second SUV was consistent with an SUV owned by Charles Lewis.

The weapon used in the incident has not been recovered.

Casey Gillespie, age not available, of Salisbury, Maryland, is also charged in the case, but his preliminary hearing will not be until April 22.

Tayloe and Stevens’ cases will now head to the Grand Jury on Monday, May 10, which will decide whether or not the case will head to Northampton Circuit Court.

Bond conditions will remain the same for Tayloe and Stevens.

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