Granny Squirrel – An Andrews man is facing serious charges following a road rage incident along U.S. 19 on Thursday.
Odis Zachary Luther, 33, is facing eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. He is being held without bail at the Cherokee County Detention Center in Murphy. He has a court date scheduled for Aug. 14.
Authorities allege that Luther got into an argument with unidentified people about possible stolen property. As the people drove away, Luther jumped into his vehicle and chased them.
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“Luther began shooting at the vehicle as they travelled east on U.S. 19,” according to a release. “Luther then began ramming his vehicle into the rear end of the victim’s vehicle and causing them to crash near the Glenn Drive-U.S. 19 intersection.”
All victims on scene required medical treatment and were taken to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree. Victims advised Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies that the suspect was Luther, and the deputies began a search.
“After hours of searching for Mr. Luther, Lt. Mitch Morgan with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office located a suspicious vehicle in the Marble community,” according to the release.
Morgan saw Luther attempting to flee in a boat in a pond between Columbia Marble Plant Road and Palmer Lane, just north of Airport Road. When deputies surrounded the pond,
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Luther surrendered without incident.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” the sheriff’s office said. “If anyone has any information on the incident, please contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at 828-837-2589.”
Luther has a criminal record dating back 10 years, including drug charges, fleeing arrest and traffic violations.