NC man dies after roadside shootout with deputy and state trooper, sheriff says
A Caldwell County deputy and a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper got into a shootout with a man “waving a rifle around” after a reported crash on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Multiple callers reported seeing an overturned black Honda four-door in a ditch off southbound Hickory Boulevard in the Sawmills Community, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Callers told the Sheriff’s Office that the man with the car, identified as 35-year-old Jerome Lavon Connelly of Morganton, had an assault rifle and pistol, the release said.
One caller said Connelly was waving a rifle around and asking for a ride, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Another caller reported that Connelly had a gun and made the statement that “if the police come, someone is going to die,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputy and trooper arrived on the scene and made contact with Connelly, the Sheriff’s Office said. Connelly exchanged gunfire with the two officers until he fled into the woods, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Officers found Connelly with a gunshot wound and began rendering aid, the N.C. Department of Public Safety said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital in Hickory, where he later died, officials said.
Multiple guns were found in Connelly’s possession when he was found, the Sheriff’s Office said. Agents also found a “significant quantity” of suspected illegal narcotics when searching Connelly’s car, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will examine the case, the Sheriff’s Office said. Video from the deputy’s body camera has been turned over to SBI, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputy, who was not identified, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending review by the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Trooper Bryson Bowman also will be placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation, which is agency protocol, according to NCDPS. Bowman is a three-year veteran stationed in Caldwell County, the release said.
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 6:44 PM.
