Armed felon with no driver’s license was going 108 mph on NC interstate, cops say

A convicted felon on probation was caught Monday driving 108 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 85, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

He was also carrying a “weapon of mass destruction” at the time -- a sawed off shotgun, officials said in a release.

Investigators didn’t reveal where 22-year-old Jason Alexander Rattz was headed with the weapon in such a hurry. Rowan County is just northeast of Charlotte.

Rattz was initially pulled over for speeding by the N.C. Highway Patrol, and his predicament worsened when the trooper reported seeing “a glass smoking device used to ingest methamphetamine” in the vehicle, a release said.

“Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Crime Reduction Unit deputies responded to the scene and conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle. Deputies located a loaded 12- gauge sawed off shotgun and approximately 2 grams of crystal methamphetamine,” according to the release.

“Rattz was convicted of felony breaking and entering on May 15, 2019, and was currently on probation. As a convicted felon, Rattz was prohibited from possessing a firearm,” officials said in the release.

As a result of the discoveries, he now faces a series of charges from multiple departments.

The State Highway Patrol charged Rattz with speeding and driving without a license.

Rowan deputies then charged him with “possession of a weapon of mass destruction, transporting a weapon of mass destruction, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of firearm by felon.”

Investigators said the shotgun qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction.

Bond for Rattz was set at $25,000, officials said. He lives in the Rowan County town of Rockwell.

This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 7:26 AM.