Road rage case continued to November

By Linda Cicoira

     A case of “road rage” was continued for sentencing until November and the man who admitted to brandishing and recklessly handling a firearm in connection with the November 2020 incident was allowed to remain free on bond.

     Twenty-three-year-old Joshua Ryan Bale, of Mink Farm Road in Onancock, was indicted on seven counts of shooting a firearm from a vehicle and possession or use of a machine gun. He pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to four lesser charges in a plea agreement with Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan. The deal was made because one investigator had retired and another was deployed overseas and would not return until 2023 or later.

     Morgan said 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 pickup truck pass him. But instead of just going by, the vehicle pulled up and shots were fired. A neighborhood video camera captured the incident and police were able to apprehend Bale. The passenger in Bale’s vehicle told confirmed that Bale fired out the window, Morgan said. She also noted the other vehicle was operating erratically.

     Bale could be sentenced up to four years in jail and fined $10,000.

     In another case, 25-year-old Erik Ricardo Castillo-Garcia, of Joynes Neck Road in Accomac, pleaded guilty to a third offense of DUI in 10 years and felony eluding in connection with June incidents. Castillo-Garcia could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison and fined $5,000. Ninety days in jail is mandatory for the offenses.

     Radar showed a vehicle heading south going 98 mph in a 55-mph zone just before the Phillip Daffin Memorial Overpass on Lankford Highway, in Tasley. When a trooper attempted to apprehend the driver, he continued driving making a U-turn and then swerved back and forth on Taylor Road in Onley.

     The defendant was hostile to the officer, slurred his words, and could hardly stand up. He later attempted to urinate on the trooper. Defense lawyer Garrett Dunham said the defendant needed rehabilitation and wanted to get into a program.

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