Wade McEwan (Cherokee County Sheriffs Office)
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - An Acworth man was convicted in a 2022 road rage shooting in Cherokee County.
Wade Anthony McEwen, 63, was found guilty of multiple felony charges including two counts of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, terroristic acts, seven counts of reckless conduct, and aggressive driving.
Those charges stem from an incident near the corner of Highway 92 and Woodstock Road on June 30, 2022. Officers saw the shooting just before 7:20 p.m. that night and performed a traffic stop on McEwen.
According to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, McEwen, while stopped at a red light, opened fire with a Glock .45 caliber handgun at the driver of a BMW. McEwen shot 14 rounds into the victim's vehicle, hitting the driver, Jason Daxon, multiple times in the arm, side, and back. Daxon was critically injured and was rushed to an area hospital for emergency surgery.
McEwen claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that the victim had pointed a gun at him. However, the evidence presented in the seven-day trial, which included testimony from 22 witnesses and nearly 300 exhibits, including surveillance video from a nearby CVS store, painted a different picture. Key evidence comprised the defendant's handgun, video footage from witnesses and surveillance cameras, and photographs of the victim's injuries and the damage to his car.
The Cherokee County jury deliberated for two days before finding McEwen on all 14 charges.
No word on when McEven will be sentenced.