An intruder was shot and killed in Goochland County after he allegedly entered into an unlocked house trailer and struggled with the homeowner
Shortly after 3 a.m. on July 25, Goochland sheriff’s deputies responded to the 2300 block of Grape Ridge Court after Adam Stone, 30, the homeowner, called to report that he had shot a man with a shotgun after the man broke into his mobile home and entered the bedroom where he and his girlfriend were sleeping.

The dead man has been identified as Joseph Clifford Johnson, 36, of the 900 block of North 30th Street in Richmond.

According to police, Stone said he tussled with Johnson and then shot him with a 12-gauge shotgun.  When deputies arrived they found the intruder inside the bedroom with a gunshot wound to the neck.

According to Sheriff James Agnew, Stone has no criminal record.

In terms of motive, Agnew said, “We don’t have any idea as to why this man was in that trailer.”

“Mr. Stone says that he had never seen this man, or heard of him in his life,” he added.

There is not a history of violent crimes in this neighborhood, says Agnew of the rural area off Dogtown Road, where Stone’s trailer is located.

After the shooting Johnson’s body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Richmond for an autopsy.   

At this time, there have been no arrests or charges associated with this case, and the Sheriff’s investigators are continuing to process and collect evidence related to the shooting.

“In a case like this, we want to gather as many facts as possible, and mull them over with the Commonwealth Attorney to decide if charges should be filed,” said Agnew. “We are trying to answer… why the man was there, who he is, if he had been there before, if it was a case of mistaken identity, was there a level of intoxication.”