James H. McDowell Jr. and Derrick Adams

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A New Jersey man has been arrested in Virginia in connection with the fatal shooting of a local resident two months ago, authorities said.

James H. McDowell Jr., 33, of Beverly City, was charged with murder, certain persons not to have firearms, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and City of Burlington Police Chief Ryan P. Elbertson said in a joint statement. 

McDowell was taken into custody in Roanoke, VA, on Aug. 15 and lodged in the Roanoke City Adult Detention Center pending extradition to New Jersey, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The investigation began June 8 after Burlington City police responded to Earl and Clarkson streets just after 5:30 a.m. for a report of shots fired, authorities said. 

Officers found Derrick Adams, 38, on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said. An autopsy by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined Adams died from multiple gunshot wounds, the prosecutor’s office said.

The investigation was conducted by the prosecutor’s office and Burlington City police, with help from the U.S. Marshals Service in New Jersey and Virginia, the Roanoke Police Department, and the Willingboro Township Police Department, authorities said.