Man shot to death in Greensville had police confrontation 2 years ago

Hopewell lawyer Peter Eliades said he was notified about the shooting death of his former client Thursday morning by the family of Jeffery O. Adkins, 53, who died at an Emporia hospital after an hourslong standoff with Virginia State Police and Greensville County sheriff’s deputies.

Eliades said Adkins suffered from mental health problems and was charged with possession of a sawed-off shotgun when authorities entered his home in July 2013.

The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm, according to court records, and Adkins received a suspended 12-month sentence. He was ordered not to possess a firearm for three years, to forfeit the weapon he’d had at his Elm Road home, and to remain on good behavior.

Family members who live adjacent to Adkins’ home declined to comment Thursday. When he was arrested in 2013, he listed assets of only $28 in cash, and a magistrate wrote that after talking with Adkins he concluded that “he is a danger to himself.”

Eliades said arresting officers used a Taser on Adkins when they arrived at his home July 28, 2013, and located the sawed-off shotgun using a search warrant.

Court documents in Emporia show that Adkins was eventually released on bond in the 2013 case but was ordered to receive a mental health assessment. But the records also show no record of him ever doing so.

Eliades said that Adkins had often complained of not being able to get help from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but was a good person living adjacent to other family members, who struggled to provide help for him. Eliades said Adkins had served in the Navy for 21 years.

Neighbors said Adkins could often be seen wandering area streets or riding a bicycle but rarely spoke. He was not known to drive a car.

Adkins was fatally shot Wednesday after officers arrived at Adkins’ home near Skippers to serve him with an emergency custody order, said Corinne Geller, a state police spokeswoman. Family members had sought help because of Adkins’ behavior.

State police responded at 6:46 p.m. Wednesday to assist local law enforcement, and “Adkins was outside the residence and in possession of a sawed-off shotgun,” according to Geller. It was not clear Thursday night whether the weapon was the same one he had been ordered to surrender from the 2013 incident.

“When Adkins refused to comply with law enforcement’s commands to surrender the weapon, state police dispatched negotiators to the scene to assist in negotiating with the visibly agitated subject,” Geller said in a statement.

Shortly before 10 p.m., state police used a diversionary device in an attempt to compel Adkins to comply and drop his weapon, according to state police, but he then fired at law enforcement. A county deputy and a trooper returned fire. Adkins was provided first aid and taken to Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia, where he was pronounced dead.

The trooper involved has been placed on administrative leave, but there was no immediate word from authorities about the status of the deputy.

The state police and sheriff’s office are investigating.