CRIME NC - Eyewitnesses describe the terror of DWI checkpoint shooting

Haven't heard a peep about this locally and we're only about 50 miles away...
============================

http://www.wect.com/story/22605650/eyewitnesses-describe-the-terror-of-dui-checkpoint-shooting

Eyewitnesses describe the terror of DWI checkpoint shooting
Posted: Jun 16, 2013 10:37 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 17, 2013 7:46 AM EDT
By: Rob Demetrious



Jared and Rose Cleerdin found themselves right in the middle of a shootout at what should have been a routine DWI checkpoint.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Jared and Rose Cleerdin found themselves right in the middle of a shootout at what should have been a routine DWI checkpoint. Days after the dramatic shootout in Brunswick County, they are still shaken by what they saw.

"Every cop turned around and started unloading like super trigger happy as if their training was coming into full effect and they were being able to utilize it," said Cleerdin. "Everybody was just blasting this car to pieces. It was absolutely terrifying."

They were stunned with what was happening, as officers reportedly shot dozens of rounds - in the direction on-coming traffic.

"Cops are shooting from the front of the car, back into the rest of the on-coming traffic to the check point, into the rest of the innocent civilians down the road," said Cleerdin.

Cleerdin says he believes the officers acted with no regard for public safety.

"It was way beyond reckless," said Cleerdin. "I couldn't believe it. These are professional people, professional officers, and they're training, they're highly trained and they're not supposed to do stuff like that."

Officials with the sheriff's office are keeping tight lipped about the incident. No one will tell us who shot the two suspects, or what even led up to the shooting.

"I could understand why they wouldn't come out with an explanation as to what happened after seeing what we saw," said Cleerdin. "It looked like every officer there did not follow protocol in any way, shape, or form."

After surviving such a scary moment, both Jared and Rose are thankful to spend this Father's Day with their girl Chloe.

"We're so lucky and so happy that our child still has parents," said Cleerdin. "That's how we feel. We feel like we were inches from death."

Seven officers - four from Brunswick and three from New Hanover - are on administrative duty. The SBI is investigating the incident.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/artic...wo-shot-at-DWI-checkpoint-in-Brunswick-County

Seven deputies put on leave, two men facing charges after checkpoint shooting

Antoine Levar Graham, 34, of Mimosa Trail in Leland and Jerry Onasis Melvin, 42, of Isabelle Trail in Leland are facing a myriad of charges related to an incident at a DWI checkpoint Friday night. Courtesy photos

By F.T. Norton
Fran.Norton@StarNewsOnline.com
Published: Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.

Seven sheriff's deputies – four with Brunswick County and three with New Hanover County – are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into an officer-involved shooting in Leland on Friday night in which two men were shot.

The deputies are Brian Medlin, Joe Cherry, John Rogers and Larry Branch with the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, and deputies J. Maroldt, J. Spivey and Sgt. M. Fike, with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, according to press releases from the agencies.

The seven were involved in a multiagency DWI checkpoint on U.S. 17 about 11:16 p.m. Friday night when officers opened fire on a vehicle.

Emily Flax, spokeswoman for the Brunswick sheriff's office, declined to give details into what precipitated the shooting or the details of the incident that resulted in the charges.

Late Saturday afternoon, Flax released the names and charges of the two men. Antoine Levar Graham, 34, of Mimosa Trail in Leland is charged with 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, one count of flee/elude arrest with motor vehicle, one count of felony conspiracy to elude, one count of possession of marijuana, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Jerry Onasis Melvin, 42, of Isabelle Trail in Leland is charged with eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, and one count of felony conspiracy to elude.

Both men were still at New Hanover Regional Medical Center as of 6 p.m. Their conditions were not released.

7 cops shooting dozens of rounds on a stopped vehicle and the perps are still alive? Lot of questions over this incident.

So........ the druggies went for their weapons and the cops opened fire all around.

Got it.

Sounds more like Baghdad than Brunswick County... but "everything was done according to procedure," so it MUST be OK. OK?
==================================

http://www.starnewsonline.com/artic...wo-shot-at-DWI-checkpoint-in-Brunswick-County

Sheriff Ingram explains what happened during checkpoint shooting
Posted: Jun 17, 2013 11:13 AM EDT
Updated: Jun 17, 2013 4:37 PM EDT
By: WECT Staff - email

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Something went wrong at a Brunswick County checkpoint, leaving two people recovering from gunshot wounds and seven deputies on the sidelines until investigators get answers.

Four sheriff's deputies from Brunswick County have been moved to desk positions and three New Hanover County deputies are on leave after 34-year-old Antoine Graham and 42-year-old Jerry Melvin, both of Leland, were shot at a DWI checkpoint.

Brunswick Sheriff John Ingram said Monday during a news conference that everything was done by procedure. When the shooting happened, the checkpoint had just started and deputies immediately shut it down to deal with the situation at hand.

WHAT TRIGGERED THE SHOOTING

According to Ingram, deputies saw Graham and Melvin throwing things from the vehicle before they got to the checkpoint. Deputies were able to recover a gun and a bag of weed.

The sheriff said it is unclear at this point if the two items belongs to either of the suspects.

Ingram said the suspect's car did not stop as it approached the DWI checkpoint in Leland, so deputies opened fire on the oncoming car. The vehicle, however, made it through the checkpoint without stopping.

The chief said one suspect got out of the car and tried to run but was caught. The other suspect continued to drive, and deputies used a pit maneuver in an attempt to stop the car. After the spinout, the car kept going so offers opened fire on the vehicle again because they believed there was still a threat to their safety.

Ingram said he was not sure how many bullets were fired during the incident.

No officers or civilians were injured in the shooting, but a New Hanover County Sheriff's patrol car was hit by a bullet. Sgt. JJ Brewer with NHCSO said the officer was not inside the vehicle when it was shot. The car was parked at the checkpoint.

According to Ingram, Graham and Melvin both had multiple gunshot wounds. They were taken to the hospital for treatment after the shooting. Melvin has since been released and Graham remains listed in good condition.

CHARGES

Melvin made his first appearance in court Monday where he was given a court appointed attorney. Court documents show he is accused of using his 1998 Lincoln Navigator to try to run over deputies.

Melvin has been charged with eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and one count of felony conspiracy.

Graham is charged with 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, 10 counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill on a government official, one count of flee/elude arrest with a motor vehicle, one count of felony conspiracy, one count of possession of marijuana up to ½ ounce, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

INVESTIGATION

Both the Brunswick and New Hanover County Sheriff's Offices are conducting internal investigations into the shooting. An independent investigation is also being conducted by the SBI. Sheriff Ingram reportedly requested that the SBI review the case.

District Attorney Jon David made a concurrent request for the SBI to get involved in the investigation.

Representatives from David's office, including an intern, were on the scene of the checkpoint to aid law enforcement. They witnessed the incident, which may create a conflict when it comes to the district attorney's role in the case.

All that over some silly pot.
Thank you War On Drugs for making us safer and our lives a richer one.

And the cops get a paid vacation.

Police reporting does not appear to mesh with eye witnesses. That's why the SBI is now involved.

Ingram said the suspect's car did not stop as it approached the DWI checkpoint in Leland, so deputies opened fire on the oncoming car. The vehicle, however, made it through the checkpoint without stopping.


Yes, this would be the kind of thing one would expect at the entrance to the Green Zone in Baghdad, not in the US. Stop or we kill you? That's when I'll start fighting back.

Well.
I feel safer now knowing if I somehow miss a checkpoit or am not involved I will likely survive no matter how many rounds they toss in the air.

These guy shoot like gangbangers.

Wonder if they held the gun sideways like is proper?

All in a days work! shoot'em up bang bang

Won't be long, if you run a stop light, ya mite find yourself in a shoot out

But if a dog had been in the car, every round would have hit...

Headline should read, Eyewitnesses describe the terror of shooting at police state checkpoint.

"Every cop turned around and started unloading like super trigger happy as if their training was coming into full effect and they were being able to utilize it," said Cleerdin. "Everybody was just blasting this car to pieces. It was absolutely terrifying."

They were stunned with what was happening, as officers reportedly shot dozens of rounds - in the direction on-coming traffic.

"Cops are shooting from the front of the car, back into the rest of the on-coming traffic to the check point, into the rest of the innocent civilians down the road," said Cleerdin.

Cleerdin says he believes the officers acted with no regard for public safety.

"It was way beyond reckless," said Cleerdin. "I couldn't believe it. These are professional people, professional officers, and they're training, they're highly trained and they're not supposed to do stuff like that."

But what he doesn't understand is, they are NOT highly trained. Cleerdin only THINKS they are, probably because the teeveemeeedia constantly assures him that LEOs are the only ones professional enough and well trained enough to carry guns.

And 'professional' just means they get paid for what they do.

At least they lived to tell their story, unlike in Cleveland...

So I get the drift the county/state prosecutor is running things and had an attorney supervising on location along with an Intern?

Did someone shoot a nail gun in that woman's ear in the pic? Weird...................

Since one cop was shooting, they all had to start? Apparently, none were thinking about why or what we are shooting at, just shoot because one of us shooting and it must justified. Serious violation of gun safety - not regarding what was behind their target.

mzkitty said:

So........ the druggies went for their weapons and the cops opened fire all around.

Got it.

Click to expand...

Damn, you should be the PD PR peep. Or a journalist.. you're showing all the qualities

Firebird said:

Did someone shoot a nail gun in that woman's ear in the pic? Weird...................

Click to expand...

It's called an "industrial" piercing. it's a 'barbell' through two piercings in the cartilage.. No functional use except for mate selection/rejection

wonder about collateral damage.. oncoming cars etc.. buildings?nuthing was mentioned about where all them bullets went.. surely they all didnt hit the vehicle.?

There's a LOT of room in the wide open spaces.

Except when there isn't, and then tragedy ensues. As an armed citizen I've been hammered for years with the idea there is an attorney attached to every projectile you fire 'for real.' LEOs, apparently, not so much.

Steel Chips said:

Police reporting does not appear to mesh with eye witnesses. That's why the SBI is now involved.

Click to expand...

Sorry the witnesses had to endure the danger, but their testimony will be essential to get the LEOs their appropriate rewards for endangering so many innocent/uninvolved.

"...These are professional people, professional officers, and they're..['trained']."

Somehow doubt that very, very much