Timothy Howard Hambleton, 62, male, from Jefferson, Ohio, was found fatally wounded outside a residence along State Route 46 in Lenox Township on the morning of June 2, 2025. Deputies responded to a 6:11 a.m. 911 call and discovered that the 62-year-old had suffered a single gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity and residence were later confirmed in a funeral notice published that week.
Within hours, investigators identified 42-year-old Timothy J. Adams as the suspect and said he fled the scene in a red 2006 Ford Explorer, warning the public he was considered armed and dangerous. A coordinated search by Ashtabula and Geauga County authorities ended at about 3:46 p.m. the same day when deputies located Adams hiding roughly 20 feet up a tree behind a friend’s home in Thompson Township; he was taken into custody without incident.
A grand jury indicted Timothy J.
Adams on June 12, 2025, on one count of murder, along with counts of voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence, stemming from the killing of Timothy Howard Hambleton, 62, male. Authorities said the slaying occurred outside the Lenox Township home.
In a subsequent court appearance, Timothy J. Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges. Bond was set at $1,000,000, and the case was assigned to Judge Thomas Harris; the court ordered that he have no contact with the victim’s family or witnesses and noted a dual-diagnosis condition in the bond requirements. Records indicated he received credit for 19 days in jail while the case proceeded.
The death of Timothy Howard Hambleton, 62, male, was also recorded by public gun-violence trackers the day it occurred, while local funeral records reflected that he “passed away unexpectedly” on June 2, 2025, aligning with law-enforcement reports of the morning shooting in Lenox Township.
