A South Carolina man charged in a 2020 Interstate 95 chase from his home state to Emporia has been found competent to go through the remainder of his proceedings.
Franklin Joseph Dangerfield appeared before Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II in Wilmington today for his competency hearing.
Notations in the court record say the parties involved in the proceedings stipulate that he is competent and the court found that he is competent to proceed with the case on the basis of the findings of his medical evaluation.
The complete details of the medical findings were not included for public inspection in the federal case file.
Previous court documents indicated that in discovery provided by the government, counsel noted that Dangerfield sustained a head injury in the past after a tree fell through the roof of his residence and struck his head.
Documents noted that Dangerfield’s counsel had four in-person meetings with his client and during the first three counsel did not observe behavior that caused concern about the man’s competency to stand trial.
However, during a meeting at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, a motion says Dangerfield was observed making delusional statements.
A neuropsychologist was unable to conduct a full battery of testing with the defendant due to him becoming agitated.
The neuropsychologist informed counsel of concerns about the defendant’s competency to assist in his defense and agreed that a full competency evaluation should be conducted.
With today’s ruling the notation says the speedy trial clock is back in effect and Dangerfield was remanded to custody.
In 2020 Dangerfield was charged by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for possession of a sawed-off shotgun.
According to the ATF complaint, 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.
Virginia State Police observed Dangerfield, the sole occupant of the vehicle, in the driver’s seat and a loaded Savage Arms Springfield 67H 12-gauge shotgun in plain view on the front passenger seat.
The shotgun had a sawed-off barrel and was not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, in violation of federal law. Officers also recovered shotgun shells and a hacksaw from the truck.
The injuries in Nash County along I-95 included 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.
A South Carolina TV station reported at the time Dangerfield set his house in Ladson, South Carolina on fire before leading authorities on the high-speed chase.