Zebulon man sentenced for shooting at Wendell police officer 9 times in 100 mph chase
A Wake County man will spend 10 years in prison after shooting at a Wendell police officer nine times in a 2018 high-speed chase, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina said Tuesday.
Cedrick Tyler Armstrong, 37, of Zebulon was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Wendell Police Department investigated the case with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Raleigh Police Department and the Zebulon Police Department.
Armstrong was riding in a car that fled from police after a Wendell officer found cocaine in the vehicle during a traffic stop on Oct. 12, 2018.
During the police chase that exceeded speeds of 100 mph, a firearm was drawn from the passenger side of the vehicle and was fired at a Wendell police car. No officers were injured.
Armstrong and the driver initially got away, but law enforcement officers found them that night at a southeast Raleigh home.
High-speed police chase
The pursuit began after the traffic stop, which yielded a small bag of powder that tested positive for cocaine.
The officer tried to remove the driver and Armstrong from the car and placed one handcuff on the driver’s left arm before a struggle began between the motorists and the officers.
The car sped off and dragged the officer about 25 feet, causing minor injuries, which led to the chase involving other patrol cars.
Armstrong fired at a Wendell police officer approximately nine times during the chase, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Officers ended their pursuit due to safety concerns. A search of the area where the shots were fired recovered a 9 mm shell casing.
Later, Armstrong and the driver were found at the residence on Beauty Avenue, where investigators retrieved a 9 mm handgun hidden in a toilet tank.
They confirmed the ammunition and the gun were involved in the shooting. Investigators also found the handcuffs that had been placed on the driver by the Wendell police officer, a handcuff key, drugs and the vehicle keys.
Investigators also found another 9 mm round in the involved vehicle matching the same make and caliber of the ammunition in the home and the shell casing recovered from the scene of the shooting. Text message evidence found by investigators revealed Armstrong admitted to shooting at the officer.
Armstrong also faces a number of pending state charges for the shooting incident.
