A two county high speed chase Thursday afternoon ended with a suspect being tasered and emergency workers performing CPR on the individual. On Friday, a court judge ordered the 911 recordings sealed.
WTSB News has learned the incident started in Wilson County and ended in Johnston County.
Law enforcement officials have declined to release any information about the pursuit, how it started, or why officers were trying to stop the suspect.
The NC SBI has been called into investigate the incident at the request of the Johnston County district attorney’s office.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Jackson said the incident was under investigation. “To ensure the integrity of this investigation, I can not make public comments regarding this incident at this time,” Jackson wrote in an email to WTSB Friday afternoon.
Resident Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock signed an order on Friday barring the release of the radio traffic of the vehicle pursuit. The request was made by Assistant District Attorney Kelly L. Sandling. The order states in part, “The State believes and there is good cause to conclude that the release of this information will jeopardize the right of a defendant to receive a fair trial and will undermine an ongoing investigation.”
The typewritten order requested the radio traffic be sealed “until further Order of the Court” but a handwritten note changed the time period to 30 days from the date the order was signed.
Click Here To Read Court Order Sealing Radio Traffic
Unconfirmed reports indicate that while fleeing from police, the suspect ran off US 70 at Bizzell Grove Church Road near Pine Level. During a confrontation with a Kenly Police officer, the driver was tasered. The suspect reportedly stopped breathing and CPR was initiated. The name or condition of the suspect has not been released.
The Highway Patrol said they were not involved in the chase but were called to the scene to take an accident report. Friday afternoon, the report had not been released. Photos by John Payne
