Armed Fugitive in Va. Deputy’s Death Caught Ringing N.C. Doorbell
What to know
- A fugitive accused of fatally shooting Carroll County Sheriff's Deputy Logan Utt and wounding another was arrested Sunday night in Surry County after a two-day, multi-state manhunt.
- Investigators used a drone to track Michael Puckett and took him into custody without incident as he rang the doorbell of a rural home while still armed.
- The shooting happened during a welfare check in Carroll County, where Utt was killed and a second deputy survived after being struck in a ballistic vest.
The arrest happened after people in the community were warned to say in their homes and be on the lookout for a shirtless man in green shorts and “wearing an orange horse blanket.”
Puckett had been on the run since Friday, May 29, when Deputy Logan Utt was fatally during a welfare check at a home on Fancy Gap Highway in Carroll County, Virginia.
“Upon arrival, two deputies made contact with a male subject identified as Michael Puckett. During the encounter, Puckett opened fire on the responding deputies. Deputies returned fire,” the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a May 30 Facebook post.
“Both deputies were struck by gunfire. One deputy sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. The second deputy was struck in his ballistic vest and is currently receiving medical evaluation and is reported to be in stable condition. Michael Puckett fled the scene.”
Deputy Utt joined the department in 2023 and was a husband, father and military veteran, Carroll County officials said.
The shooting led to a multi-state manhunt that came to an end two days later in Surry County, North Carolina.
Puckett was arrested just six miles southeast from where the manhunt began.
Investigators did not reveal what Puckett’s intentions were when he stopped at the home on Skyview Lane northwest of Mount Airy. Maps show the home is in a sparsely populated area on a dead-end road.
Mount Airy is about a 100-mile drive north from uptown Charlotte, near the Virginia state line.
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