Former and current Sheriff’s Office deputies indicted in Ennis case

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday afternoon, May 8, Virginia State Police issued a press release on indictments handed down earlier that day by a Warren County Grand Jury against current and former Warren County Sheriff’s Office deputies related to the April 2022 death of 77-year-old Ralph Ennis.

Indicted were former deputy Zachary A. Fadely, 30, on one felony count of malicious wounding, and Tyler S. Poe, 25, on one felony count of unlawful wounding. Fadely, a Shenandoah County resident, was released by the WCSO department shortly after the incident, Poe, of Warren County, was initially put on desk duty and later returned to regular duties. He later received multiple Officer of the Year awards from the WCSO.

If convicted, Poe faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Fadely faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Ralph Ennis, left with his friend, Main St. Pawn Shop owner Ralph Waller. Courtesy Photo

As previously reported, Ennis died 13 days after being hospitalized, then released to Hospice care for injuries, including a brain bleed, suffered at the hands of the two deputies after a low-speed pursuit of Ennis and his being taken into custody after belatedly pulling into a 7/11 parking lot in the shopping area just north of Front Royal. Body camera video from a Front Royal Police Officer on the scene showed Ennis initially being grabbed by Poe after slowly moving forward, apparently offering his keys to the officer. Poe then roughly cuffed Ennis’ hands behind his back as Ennis’ head slammed into the back cab of the his pickup truck. Fadely then rushed into the scene, taking both Poe and Ennis to the ground as the trio apparently tripped over the truck’s trailer hitch as Fadely’s body weight impacted the situation.

It was later reported by family and friends that Ennis was dealing with the onset of dementia and that the county sheriff’s office had been involved in finding him at friends in Front Royal after his being reported missing by a family member. Unfortunately, apparently, none of those deputies familiar with Ennis’s story were on the scene the night of the chase and custody incident.

Below is the VSP Press Release in its entirety:

“On May 8, 2023, a Warren County grand jury handed up two felony indictments related to the investigation into an April 2022 traffic stop in Warren County.

“Zachary A. Fadely, 30, of Shenandoah County, Va., was indicted on one felony count of malicious wounding, and Tyler S. Poe, 25, of Warren County, Va., was indicted on one felony count of unlawful wounding. State police have been in contact with both men’s attorneys to arrange for each one to turn himself in to state police investigators as soon as possible.

“The indictments result from a traffic stop that occurred on April 2, 2022, at approximately 1:20 a.m. when the Warren County Sheriff’s Office encountered a vehicle traveling on Winchester Rd.

The traffic stop was initiated for a speeding violation – 63 mph in a 55 mph zone. During the course of the traffic stop, the vehicle’s driver, Ralph C. Ennis, 77, of Gainesville, Va., was allegedly assaulted by Fadely and Poe. Ennis was transported to the Winchester Medical Center for treatment of injuries sustained during the traffic stop.

“The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office is investigating the case.”

Who was Ralph Ennis? Local friends mourn the loss of ‘an easy-going, sweet guy’

Body camera footage details circumstances of Ralph Ennis’s April 2 traffic stop