ISLE OF WIGHT, Va. – The bond hearing for a man arrested for making threats against an Isle of Wight Circuit Court judge was continued Tuesday morning.
Joseph Wright Jr. was arrested last week for threating Judge L. Wayne Farmer and his family, according to the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators determined that recent threats made by Joseph Anderson Wright Jr. against Farmer were direct, planned and researched. Officials also believed that Wright had acquired the means to carry out the threats.
Court documents reveal Wright alleged told an informant that he planned to set Farmer’s house on fire.
According to the informant, Wright believes Farmer is responsible for the “the loss of everything in his life, to include his marriage, family, and home.”
In the court documents, the detectives states Wright once lived on Dew Plantation Road and had a long-standing dispute with a neighbor.
This led to numerous court actions being taken against Wright.
Farmer was the commonwealth attorney at the time and Wright believed he was responsible for those outcomes.
Authorities say Wright has made vague and hypothetical statements of discontent with the legal system and Farmer in the past. Farmer was formerly the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Wright was arrested on March 22 on a single indictment as it pertains to Virginia State Code 18.2-83, “Threat to bomb, burn or destroy by fire a building, structure or any means of transportation”. He is being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail on a no bond status. Additional charges are pending.
Officials say investigators have previously interacted with Wright, mostly concerning a neighborhood dispute.
