An Imperial man faces four felony charges and one misdemeanor charge stemming from an apparent road-rage incident on Oct. 23 that started in Herculaneum and ended in Crystal City where several gunshots were fired.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Ethan Gabriel Adams, 18, of Imperial on Oct. 24 with first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, each one a class B felony punishable by up to five years in prison; two counts of armed criminal action, each one an unclassified felony that carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison; and second-degree property damage, a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, court records show.
Adams was being held in the Jefferson County Jail on no bond as of this morning, Oct. 27.
During the alleged road-rage incident, Adams was a passenger in a vehicle driven by an 18-year-old rural Festus man, who was arrested but had not been charged as of this morning, Oct. 27, said Capt. Mike Pruneau of the Crystal City Police Department.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, Crystal City Police received several 911 calls reporting gunshots fired from a vehicle in the 800 block of Lindsey Avenue, Crystal City Police reported in a written statement.
The incident involved a 2019 Kia Stinger and a 2002 Dodge Dakota and started near the Buchheit store in Herculaneum, before ending at Lindsay Avenue, Pruneau said.
The victim, a 42-year-old Crystal City man who was driving the Kia, told police the pickup closely followed his vehicle all the way to Crystal City, so the Crystal City man got out of his vehicle at Lindsey “to ask the persons in the vehicle to stop following him,” the Crystal City Police report said.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, that’s when “Adams, while still seated in the passenger seat, pointed a black revolver at the victim’s face and then fired two shots at the ground near his feet. As the suspect vehicle began to drive away, Adams fired three more shots at the victim, striking the victim’s vehicle, causing damage to the driver-side rear tire and quarter panel. The victim stated the passenger shot at him.”
Pruneau said the victim was not injured, but two bullets struck the Kia.
A witness provided a description of the suspects and their vehicle, along with the license plate number, and police found the vehicle a short time later in the Twin City Walmart, 650 Truman Blvd., Crystal City Police reported.
The suspects were arrested after they came out of the Walmart, Pruneau said.
“Officers were able to safely take two suspects into custody at gunpoint,” he said. “A handgun was located in the suspect vehicle.”