Man accused of bringing guns on Wythe school grounds loses firearms rights
Justin Ray Reed
A Wythe County man accused of carrying two guns onto the Fort Chiswell High School campus last month had his firearm rights temporarily suspended on Wednesday through the commonwealth’s “red flag” law.
Appearing from jail via video and after talking to his attorney in the courtroom, 27-year-old Justin Ray Reed of Max Meadows didn’t object to the commonwealth’s effort to extend an emergency order police got after Reed’s arrest on four felony charges.
Taken out by school resource officer D.W. Vaught, the emergency – and now 180-day — order bans Reed from possessing or buying guns while it’s in place. Passed by the General Assembly in 2020, the law targets individuals believed to pose “a substantial risk” to injure themselves or others. Violating the order is a misdemeanor.
Arrested on Feb. 17, Reed was charged with possessing a gun on school property (two counts), brandishing a firearm on school property (two counts) and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
According to police and information in the court order, Reed, who was armed with a fully loaded AR-15-style rifle and 9-mm handgun, walked onto the grassy area in front of Fort Chiswell High School before crossing U.S. 52 and walking north along the roadside.
Deputies confronted Reed, who lives just over a mile from the school, on Apache Road near Clinch Valley Community Action Head Start.
Vaught said Reed wouldn’t comply with verbal commands to stop walking away from officers and to lay down his weapons.
“We negotiated with Reed for about 15 minutes before the call was made to approach Reed, disarm Reed and take him into custody,” Vaught wrote.
Asked why he was carrying guns on school property, Reed said, “I was just traveling,” Vaught wrote.
The school resource officer said Reed told deputies he would show them “a video of him not on school property.” Reed, though, wasn’t carrying a cell phone and said “a drone was recording him.”
“Reed made the statement to the officers on scene while being taken into custody, ‘I f….ed up, I went too far trying to prove a point,’” Vaught wrote.
Vaught said Reed was “in close proximity” to Fort Chiswell area businesses twice on Feb. 17.
“Justin Ray Reed’s neighbors have contacted our office and made reports of him shooting guns at all hours of the day and night,” Vaught wrote. “Reed has also been spotted parked in front of the Sheriff’s Office after hours in the middle of the night and early morning in the past couple of weeks watching Sheriff’s Office employees.”
Initially held without bond, Reed, through his newly hired attorneys, has requested a bond hearing on Friday.
According to court records, Reed, who has no criminal record and is self-employed, gets his income through 12 rental properties valued at $500,000.
During Reed’s bail hearing, a magistrate wrote he was “evasive with all questions.”
Reed’s preliminary hearing has been set for May 4 in Wythe County General District Court.
If convicted of all five charges, he faces a maximum punishment of 21 years in prison.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611, extension 572, or jsimmons@wythenews.com.
