Murphy – Matthew Scott Hicking pleaded guilty last week in Cherokee County Superior Court to felony death by vehicle and felony serious injury by vehicle, according to District Attorney Ashley Welch.
Also in Cherokee County, Welch said Claude Douglas Laney, 56, of Murphy, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with a habitual felon enhancement, resisting a public officer, assault on a female and misdemeanor domestic violence.
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Hicking, 51, of Hot House, received an active sentence in state prison totaling 80 months minimum to 118 months maximum.
Around 2 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2023, Hicking drove his vehicle on U.S. 64 West at speeds of more than 100 mph. He hit a guardrail near Ranger Elementary School, sending his vehicle into oncoming lanes. Hicking’s vehicle hit another vehicle – driven by Thomas Keith Ledford Jr. of Blue Ridge, Ga. – killing him almost instantly and severely injuring his 21-year-old son.
Hicking also was injured and taken to the hospital, where N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Cook collected a sample of his blood. The state lab found that Hicking had a blood alcohol level of .15. The state’s legal limit is .08.
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Superior Court Judge Peter Knight ruled against the defendant on four motions to suppress evidence. Hicking then pleaded guilty as charged. Knight sentenced him to the maximum allowed. Assistant district attorney Jim Moore prosecuted the case.
In connection with Laney, on June 15, 2024, responding to dispatch, Murphy police Officer Parker Southard went to the scene of a report of domestic violence on Sunrise Street. He observed Laney running through the woods.
With officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office assisting, found and arrested Laney, seizing a bag later tested and found to be methamphetamine. Knight sentenced Laney to 35 months minimum and 54 months maximum in state prison.
Assistant district attorney Kimberly Harris, who prosecuted the case, entered evidence that resulted in the habitual felon designation, North Carolina’s version of “three strikes and you’re out.” Habitual felon status toughens judges’ options when handing down active prison time.