A South Carolina man was arrested today for possessing an unregistered short-barrel shotgun after he shot multiple vehicles and one person along Interstate 95 and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase into Virginia on Saturday.
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert J. Higdon Jr. said in a statement this afternoon Franklin Joseph Dangerfield, 33, of Ladson, South Carolina, was arrested by special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives and is charged by complaint with one count of possessing an unregistered short-barrel shotgun and faces a maximum penalty of 120 months’ in prison if convicted.
Dangerfield was expected to make a first appearance in federal court in Raleigh today before United States Magistrate Judge James E. Gates.
According to the 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 mark 11 in Emporia at approximately 7:30 p.m.
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 include one person shot in the shoulder and another punctured in the face by shattered glass.
The gunshot victim was airlifted to Greenville.
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.
Dangerfield was airlifted to MCV in Richmond following the crash with a Virginia State Police trooper accompanying him.
He was guarded by Virginia State Police until his release to their custody.
Virginia State Police turned Dangerfield’s vehicle over to the Nash County Sheriff’s Office as evidence.
Along with the evidence listed in the press release, a piece of wood that appeared to be from the stock of the shotgun was seized. Mail addressed to Dangerfield was seized along with a bottle of an unknown clear liquid, a CO2 pistol and multiple CO2 cartridges.
The criminal complaint says Dangerfield has pending felony charges from 2017 out of Berkeley County, South Carolina for grand larceny, carjacking, and kidnapping.
He has misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence in 2017 and 2011.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh is prosecuting the case.
He faces numerous traffic-related offenses in Nash County, according to the state court calendar.
