On the evening of February 9, 2026, Joseph Michael Joey Adams, a 41-year-old husband and father of five from Garner, North Carolina, was fatally shot while driving on Timber Drive just minutes from his home. He had been returning from work as a Hydrovac Operator for Badger Daylighting when the shooting occurred, and his death shocked his family and the local community.

The Garner Police Department asked the public for dashcam footage and tips, and investigators used tips and evidence analysis to identify a suspect. Authorities located 26-year-old Solomon Thomas Owens of Durham at a Raleigh residence. On February 20, 2026, a SWAT team attempting to serve a warrant encountered gunfire; Owens fired on officers, wounding one officer in the head but that officer’s ballistic helmet prevented a life-threatening injury. Owens was injured in the exchange, taken into custody and treated, and later charged with Adams’s murder and multiple felonies related to the shootout, including attempted first-degree murder and assault on law enforcement. He is being held in Wake County Jail without bond.

The motive for Adams’s killing remains unclear and the investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information about Joseph Adams, his movements on February 9, or the shooting on Timber Drive, please share what you know with investigators.