YELLOW CREEK
Cycle chase hits 110 mph
After spotting a blacked-out motorcycle with no visible license plate, Graham County sheriff’s Deputy Chase Hughes attempted to initiate a traffic stop around the 2500 block of Tallulah Road on Feb. 20, but the two-wheeled driver opted to ignore the order. By the time the chase reached the U.S. 129 intersection, the motorcycle had already reached 110 mph.
The driver – Dustin Martin Berry, 46, of Marietta, Ga. – showed no signs of slowing down, continuing on U.S. 129 North through Robbinsville and Santeetlah. Berry then veered onto Yellow Creek Road, consistently maintaining speeds of 70-75 mph. Officers stayed in constant communication throughout the pursuit, even contacting Blount County, Tenn., authorities on the chance Berry made it to the Tail of the Dragon outside Swain County.
Instead, Berry’s 18.9-mile run ended in the 6600 block of Yellow Creek Road, as he was ejected from the bike and landed on the right side of the road. The bike skidded to a halt on the left. Afterward, Berry allegedly told authorities that he was a government official with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Berry suffered a fractured ankle in the incident and was taken to Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva for treatment. He was then taken in by Jackson County authorities and issued a $10,000 bond, before being returned to Graham County on the charge of flee/elude arrest with a motor vehicle, a felony. He bonded out of jail early Feb. 21.
RALEIGH
Stein urging fentanyl unit
Attorney General Josh Stein announced last week that he is seeking funding to create a Fentanyl Control Unit within the N.C. Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions & Law Enforcement Section to help local district attorneys handle large-scale fentanyl trafficking, wiretap, and overdose cases.
Prosecutors in Special Prosecutions are referred cases from local district attorneys for reasons of conflict, jurisdictional complexity, and resource management. A new Fentanyl Control Unit will prosecute fentanyl and other drug traffickers and dealers, bringing additional expertise and resources to these important cases.
More resources are needed to respond to the crisis, Stein said, which is why he’s asking legislators to add prosecutors at the Department of Justice to create a Fentanyl Control Unit to assist local prosecutors around the state with the increasing number of fentanyl cases. This specialized unit will target high-level cases. Additional resources are also needed in individual district attorney’s offices across the state to address all types of fentanyl prosecutions.
If positions for the new unit are approved, the Department of Justice will offer fentanyl, wiretap and overdose prosecution resources to all district attorney offices in the state beyond current capacity. In 2021, more than 70,000 people died of fentanyl overdose in the United States. North Carolina is also experiencing similar increases; in 2022, fentanyl rose to become the No. 2 drug found in drug evidence tested at the State Crime Lab.
From staff reports.