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RALEIGH – A South Carolina man was arrested today (Thursday) for possessing an unregistered short-barrel shotgun after he shot multiple vehicles and one person along I-95, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase into Virginia on Saturday.

Franklin Joseph Dangerfield, 33, of Ladson, SC, was arrested by special agents of the ATF 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 will make his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Gates in Raleigh.

According to the complaint, on September 5, 2020, 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 truck. 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 Marker 11 in Emporia, VA 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 a hospital in 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.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Police Department, and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.