A Brodheadsville man has been charged with attempted criminal homicide after police said he shot another man Thursday afternoon in Chestnuthill Township.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Trooper Bridgette Flanigan of the state police, Fern Ridge barracks, in the case against Joseph Wadas:

At 1:55 p.m., Fern Ridge troopers were dispatched to a residence in the 100 block of Greenview Drive for a shooting.

The complainant contacted 911 about a shooting, and while en route to the scene, it was determined that the victim, a 34-year-old man, was struck in the left wrist.

Trooper Robert Miller arrived at the scene, where the victim was in the back of an ambulance awaiting transport.

Miller saw several trails of blood and bloodstained rags in the area of the driveway.

He entered the residence’s front downstairs door, which was ajar, and approached a staircase that led to the main upstairs living space.

Miller announced himself and two men came downstairs.

Several minutes later, a woman came outside from the upstairs of the residence.

At 3:18 p.m., Criminal Investigation Unit Trooper Brittany Cutro arrived at Lehigh Valley Pocono Hospital and interviewed the victim, who said that he was a past tenant at the residence. He moved out in August 2024, but moved back in shortly thereafter.

He said that he moved out again several days ago, and that on Thursday, he had arrived at the residence to help his friend weld a vehicle frame.

Confrontation

He said that Wadas, 60, the landlord/property owner, approached him and told him to get off his property.

The victim stated that Wadas struck him with his walking stick and shot at him, and said he was hit by one bullet in the left wrist. The victim said that Wadas shot him with a .38 caliber revolver, which he often carries in his back pocket.

Cutro interviewed a Lehigh Valley Ambulance paramedic, who said the entrance wound appeared to be on the backside of the victim’s wrist. A slug hit one of the victim’s arteries.

Around 4 p.m., troopers Justin Gutsie and Kenneth Santos conducted an interview with the complainant, who said she lives nearby on Greenview Drive with Wadas.

The complainant, the victim’s girlfriend, was kicked out of the residence several days ago. Earlier, she said that she heard arguing outside, and what sounded like a gunshot, then looked outside and saw Wadas and the victim.

The victim was hunched over, so she immediately called 911, then went outside and asked Wadas why he would shoot someone.

Wadas then struck her with his walking stick. The woman also said she knows Wadas to possess a firearm.

A trooper conducted an interview with one of the men who came downstairs from the residence on Greenview Drive.

A gunshot

He said he was outside working on a trailer when he heard two men arguing in the front of the residence and heard one gunshot.

The trooper interviewed the other man who came downstairs from the residence on Greenview Drive; he said he was inside his residence when he heard a scream from outside, went outside and saw the victim with a gunshot wound.

Police interviewed Wadas at the Fern Ridge station.

Wadas said that while at the location, he came into contact with the victim, whom he previously said was not to be on his property.

Wadas said that upon encountering the victim, he was armed with a .38 caliber revolver, brandished the firearm, and fired at least one round at the victim.

Wadas said he intended to scare, not shoot, the victim.

Wadas faces charges of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and tamper with/fabricate physical evidence.

Currently incarcerated in the Monroe County Prison with his request for bail denied, Wadas is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Nov. 6.