A federal court convicted a Kernersville man who shot at a Highway Patrol Officer while driving in Orange County on multiple charges Wednesday.
Tyler Lloyd Grantz, 20, was convicted on four felony charges: knowing possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing cocaine hydrochloride, possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing oxycodone, and carry and use of firearms through discharge, during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
A release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office detailed the evidence presented at Grantz’s trial. Around 2 a.m. on March 5, 2019, a state trooper noticed Grantz driving over 100 mph on Interstate 40. As he fled, Grantz fired multiple rounds from a handgun and struck the patrol vehicle’s radiator before pulling over and firing multiple rounds from a rifle. Orange County Sheriff’s Office began a manhunt shortly after as Grantz ran from the scene on foot and arrested him around 11:30 a.m. that morning. Several schools in the area, like New Hope Elementary, AL Stanback Middle, Morris Grove Elementary and Partnership Academy, entered a soft lockdown during the manhunt.
Authorities later found Grantz stole the car and handgun he used and he possessed distribution amounts of cocaine hydrochloride and oxycodone, as well as drug packaging paraphernalia and additional ammunition.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Chapel Hill Police Department.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood shared his thoughts on the case following Grantz’s convictions.
“Incidents like this demonstrate how critical the relationships are between local, state, and federal law enforcement partners,” he said Thursday. “Those relationships allow successful collaborations like this one, whereby a dangerous individual is apprehended and successfully prosecuted in federal court.”
Grantz’s sentencing in the case is scheduled for May 11 at 2 p.m., at the same Greensboro federal courthouse as his three-day trial. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for possession of the stolen firearm, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the narcotics offenses, and a consecutive sentence of no less than ten years and up to to life for discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug crime.
Grantz has been detained in Orange County Jail since his arrest.
Photo via Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
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