Priest In Red Corvette Pulls Gun, Gets Arrested: Troopers

PALM CITY, FL — An Episcopal priest from North Carolina faces criminal charges after troopers say he pulled a firearm on another motorist while tooling northbound on Florida’s Turnpike in a red Corvette.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the incident that led to the Rev. William Rian Adams’ July 5 arrest began to unfold around 8:43 p.m. The trooper who ultimately cuffed Adams, 35, in the case was helping out a motorist with a disabled vehicle on the turnpike when he received notification about a road rage incident. The two vehicles involved had just passed his location, so he began to pursue the suspect car, a report said.

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The trooper caught up with the red Corvette a short time later and pulled it over. After ordering both occupants out of the vehicle with their hands up, the trooper asked if there was a weapon in the car. Adams said there was a weapon under the passenger’s seat that was unloaded and a magazine in the glove box, the report noted.

Adams, who serves as the rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, North Carolina, also told the trooper he had a Florida concealed weapons permit, the report added.

When asked about the incident with the other motorist, Adams told the trooper a blue pickup truck had pulled alongside him on the turnpike. The motorist rolled the window down, yelled, screamed and then threw a soda can at the Corvette, the report said. Adams denied pulling out his weapon at any time, the report stated.

The two people inside the blue pickup told troopers a very different story. According to the report, the driver of the Corvette pulled a gun, pointed it at both occupants and the truck before the driver of the pickup “pulled away from the Corvette and then called the cops,” the report said.

Adams was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He was booked into the Martin County Jail, authorities noted.

After his arrest, troopers say Adams stated again that he did not pull or point his gun at the people in the pickup. His Glock 22 was taken into evidence.

A written plea of not guilty was filed in the case on July 10, Martin County court records indicate.

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