Onancock man gets 30 days in road rage incident

By Linda Cicoira

An Onancock man was sentenced to 30 days in jail Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court in connection with a “road rage” incident that occurred in November 2020.

Twenty-three-year-old Joshua Ryan Bale, an Eagle Scout who lives on Mink Farm Road, said he shot his semi-automatic Davidson Defense rifle, that has a range of two miles, three times during the incident. He explained that because of the initial sound and then the noise when it broke the sound barrier, it likely sounded like more shots on a video cam that police recovered from the area.

Bale said he shot away from the vehicles in an effort to scare the other driver away. He was initially indicted on seven counts of shooting a firearm from a vehicle on Nov. 7, 2020, and possession or use of a machine gun.

He pleaded guilty to four lesser charges, three counts of reckless handling of a firearm and a count of brandishing of a firearm. Judge W. Revell Lewis III sentenced him to 12 months in jail for each charge. Three of the sentences were suspended. All but 30 days was suspended for the fourth term. The sentences were set to run consecutively. Lewis said the time could be served on weekends beginning this weekend.

The pleas were part of an agreement with Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan. The prosecutor said the deal was made because one investigator had retired and another was deployed overseas and it was unclear when he would return.

Morgan said it was reported to police that a man was driving on Merry Branch Road when a vehicle came up behind him and started blowing the horn. The driver pulled over to let the pick-up truck pass. But, instead of the truck just going by, gunshots were fired at him from it.

Trenna Orsinger, Bale’s fiancee, said the couple was returning from camping at Turlington Farms, in Melfa, at about 11 p.m. She was driving the defendant’s pick-up truck while Bale rode in the passenger seat. A vehicle pulled in front of her and then drove across the roundabout in Tasley. She was able to pass the vehicle but it then began to tailgate her and she became afraid. She said Bale fired out into an open field and not at the other vehicle.

“Do you realize what a knucklehead you were?” Defense lawyer Thomas Norment Jr., minority leader in the state senate, asked Bale. Norment wondered why the victim was not in attendance.

“Yes, I do,” replied the defendant. “No explanation. I just wanted the situation to be over. I wish I had done anything other than that,” Bale said, adding he is never going to do anything like this again. Bale admitted to drinking alcohol after they got home.

The defendant probably “needs to see the inside of the jail, at least for a little bit, to understand the seriousness” of the situation, Morgan said. The prosecutor added that Bale lied to police when they first questioned him about the incident. Morgan contended that Bale was still not being completely straightforward concerning the crimes.

“What I don’t understand was why not slow down and let them go by,” said Judge Lewis. “You were shooting a gun because you wanted to intimidate them. This is serious. Fortunate for you, you were able to have a plea bargain.”

Lewis said he showed leniency because Bale has shown initiative in obtaining a high-paying job at such a young age. He was ordered to be on good behavior for three years, be prohibited from using illegal drugs or marijuana, and prohibited from possessing a firearm outside of his home.