The man charged in a chase from the North Carolina state line near South Carolina to Emporia was named in a three-count indictment this week charging him on weapons counts linked to him being in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, federal court records show.
Franklin Joseph Dangerfield is scheduled to appear in United States court in Wilmington on November 17 for arraignment before District Judge Richard E. Myers II.
On Wednesday a federal grand jury returned true bills of indictment on three charges which alleges he knowingly possessed a Savage Arms 12-gauge shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches long. The indictment charges the gun was not registered to the defendant at the time he reportedly went on a shooting spree along Interstate 95 on September 5.
In count two the grand jury charges that Dangerfield knowingly transported the weapon from the District of South Carolina to North Carolina.
Count three charges that Dangerfield was in possession of the weapon while not being a licensed dealer, importer, manufacturer or collector of firearms and transported the shotgun without the authorization of the Attorney General and in violation of United States Code.
The indictment is based on his arrest by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In addition to his federal arraignment, Dangerfield is scheduled to appear in Nash County District Court on December 4 to answer to charges of fail to reduce speed; reckless driving with wanton disregard; hit and run-leaving the scene with property damage; fail to report an accident; improper passing on the right; and fail to maintain lane control.
According to the ATF complaint, on September 5, at approximately 6:45 p.m., deputies with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office responded to southern Nash County after receiving calls of a male shooting at vehicles along I-95 from a black pickup.
Deputies located the truck traveling at high speeds north on I-95, and pursued the driver through four counties, before crossing the North Carolina-Virginia state line.
Deputies with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the pursuit.
The driver of the pickup truck exceeded speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour before crashing at mile marker 11 in Emporia at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The injuries in Nash County along I-95 include one person shot in the shoulder and another punctured in the face by shattered glass.
A Nash County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s marked vehicle sustained damage in the chase and the deputy received treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
The criminal complaint filed by the ATF shows the barrel measured approximately 13 inches.