DA rules on Johnston County detective who shot drug suspect during arrest

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra
·2 min read

A Johnston County sheriff’s deputy won’t face charges for shooting a man he was trying to arrest in the wrist, Johnston County District Attorney Susan I. Doyle announced Monday.

Detective Michael Wilson was attempting to arrest Oshea Quashon Massey on May 5, 2021, on outstanding warrants for drug trafficking offenses, Doyle said in a news release.

Massey refused to show his hands to officers who repeatedly asked him to show them while sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle, Doyle said. Officers watched Massey bend toward the floorboard of the car where he was concealing his hands. The driver of the vehicle, Tyeverette Blue, had lifted his hands.

Wilson fired his Glock 17 service weapon once when he feared Massey was reaching for a gun, according to the release. Massey was shot in the wrist and taken to WakeMed to be treated for his wounds.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Massey was known to be “a validated gang member” with several felony convictions including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, second degree burglary, and other drug-related offenses.

Law enforcement suspected he could be armed and dangerous and had observed a social media post showing Massey with a firearm that he had made earlier in the day of the shooting.

The incident happened on East Branch Street in Benson. A search of the vehicle recovered a loaded Taurus firearm, cash, marijuana, heroin and drug paraphernalia, according to the news release.

Massey is currently awaiting trial after being federally indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on drug charges.

The shooting was investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation, which is common procedure when area law enforcement officers shoot someone.

In announcing no charges, Doyle cited North Carolina General Statute 15A-401(d)(2), which “authorizes a law enforcement officer to use deadly force upon another person to defend himself or a third person from what the officer reasonably believes to be the imminent use of deadly physical force.”