LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A man accused of shooting at deputies from a stolen car during a police chase that crossed county lines on Wednesday was arrested in Shelby on Thursday.
WCNC Charlotte was near a Days Inn motel in Shelby on Thursday when Cleveland County authorities captured 29-year-old Jeremy Aaron Huffman. He'd been on the run since allegedly leading Lincoln County deputies on a police chase in a stolen car.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said it was checking a parking area where a food truck operates near the intersection of North Carolina Highways 10 and 18 in Laurel Hill when they found a car that was reported as stolen from Catawba County. When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver sped off toward Cleveland County.
Huffman allegedly pulled out a handgun and started shooting at the officers from a driver's side window. The deputies returned fire as the chase crossed county lines. At this time, it's believed no one was hit during the shootout, but investigators say Huffman fired one shot that hit the front of a school bus with three kids on board. No one was hurt.
Huffman led deputies into Shelby until he crashed the car near the intersection of Dixon Boulevard and Highway 226, not far from U.S. 74. Deputies said he jumped out of the car and ran off before they could catch him. A stretch of U.S. 74 was shut down from South Lafayette Street to Poplar Springs Church Road while investigators searched for Huffman.
Cleveland County deputies and K-9 units were spotted near a Days Inn motel in Shelby Thursday morning. Huffman was arrested around 8 a.m. in Shelby.
“We live about a mile from that place so it was unnerving to know that he was on the run, and knowing that we didn’t know what he was going to do,” Scott Pitts, Shelby resident, said.
“They had a lot of manpower,” Rutherford resident Richard Brendle said. “When we were coming down the bypass, they were on the side of the bypass, looking at who is who and checking the woods.”
Cleveland County deputies took a woman into custody after the crash. The woman has not been identified and it's unclear if she will be charged in connection with the incident.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.