By Mark Price
Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
GASTONIA, N.C. — An “armed and dangerous” man accused of killing an off-duty deputy at a Florida gas station was caught nearly 400 miles away when U.S. Marshals and police closed in on a home in North Carolina, investigators say.
Investigators did not reveal why Demaurea Grant, 29, sought refuge in Gastonia, but the vehicle he was seen driving in Florida had North Carolina license plates, officials said. Gastonia is about a 22-mile drive west from Charlotte.
Grant is accused of killing Bradley McNew around 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, when the off-duty corrections officer came to the defense of a woman being assaulted outside a convenience store, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“A ... male (suspect) and a female were involved in a violent dispute,” the sheriff’s office reported in a news release.
“The suspect ... placed a black handgun on the hood of the vehicle and removed the female from the driver’s seat. The male proceeded to batter the female, violently throwing her against the vehicle and the ground.”
It was then that McNew, “who just finished his shift,” tried to intervene, officials said. However, Grant told the officer “it was a family matter” and threatened him with the gun, officials said.
“The suspect and female eventually returned to the vehicle. As they left the scene, the suspect was observed hanging out of the window, firing the firearm, and ultimately striking Officer McNew,” the sheriff’s office said.
“He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
Gastonia police and U.S. Marshals arrested Grant around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 , at a single-family home in the 200 block of North Highland Street , officials said.
He is charged with “second-degree murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon, and aggravated assault,” officials said. Grant is being held without bond for extradition to Florida, officials said.
“The woman involved in the incident is being held on other unrelated charges as the investigation continues,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officials said. Her identity was not released.
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