Chapel Hill Police Identify, Charge Third in High-Speed Chase and Shooting From January

The third suspect involved in a high-speed chase with state troopers through Orange County and gunfire toward law enforcement in Chapel Hill is in custody and facing charges, according to police.

A release from the Chapel Hill Police Department Monday afternoon said it delivered 16 charges stemming from the Jan. 25 incident to 19-year-old Maurice Keys of Durham, as Keys was held at the Durham County Detention Facility for unrelated charges. Similar to the two juvenile suspects charged before him, Keys will face attempted first degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer among other alleged crimes. He is set to first appear in Orange County court on the charges at 2 PM on Monday.

The trio of suspects’ initially evaded law enforcement, stemming back from when they failed to stop for the North Carolina Highway Patrol when driving more than 110 mph on Interstate 40 overnight on Jan. 25. The state trooper pursued the vehicle, which was later deemed to be stolen, into Chapel Hill town limits — with the suspects eventually driving into the Timber Hollow Apartments community off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The group, who the state highway patrol reported were wearing ski masks, shot at the trooper after exiting the vehicle and then escaped into the nearby woods on foot. No one was injured from the incident, but police said the gunfire struck and damaged several parked cars.

Local law enforcement ultimately worked together with the state and federal Bureaus of Investigation to identify all three suspects, arresting a 15-year-old at North Holman Street in Durham and a 14-year-old along East Main Street on Jan. 29.

Keys’ full list of charges include:

Attempted First Degree Murder
Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill
Assault with a Firearm on a Law Enforcement Officer
Two counts of Possession of Stolen Firearm
Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle
Assault by Pointing a Gun
Discharge a Firearm into a Patrol Vehicle
Discharge Firearm in City Limits
Resist, Delay, Obstruct
Three counts of Damage to Personal Property
Fleeing to Elude Arrest with a Motor Vehicle
Two counts of Contributing to Delinquency of a Juvenile

The arrest marks the second time in a span of months Keys faces charges of stolen property, firearm possession as a felon, and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. He was one of nine suspects — four of whom were under 18 years old — arrested by Durham Police in September over a stolen-vehicle investigation.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Chapel Hill Police Identify, Charge Third in High-Speed Chase and Shooting From January

On Air Now: 97.9 FM