The defendant in a 2020 chase from South Carolina to the Virginia line is set for trial in July after pleading guilty last month to the three federal weapons counts lodged against him.
Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II set the sentencing date for Franklin Joseph Dangerfield for the July 12 term of court in Wilmington.
In count 1 the South Carolina man is charged with possessing a 12-gauge shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches long.
Count 2 reflects that Dangerfield transported the weapon from South Carolina to the Eastern District of North Carolina and count 3 charges that he transported the weapon without the specific authorization of the attorney general and that he was not a licensed dealer, importer, manufacturer or collector of firearms.
In March Dangerfield was found competent to go through the remainder of his proceedings.
Court records do not give any details of the competency proceedings.
Previous court documents have 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.
In 2020 Dangerfield was charged by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on counts related to 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 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 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.
