WINTON – An Ahoskie man faces a multitude of charges after leading Hertford County Sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase along several local roads Thursday morning.

Shaquille O’Neal Carter, 25, of Bluefoot Road, Ahoskie, stands charged with felony speed to elude arrest, driving while license revoked, reckless driving, speeding, operating a vehicle with no insurance, fictitious registration plate, possession of up to one-half ounce of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Carter was placed under a $25,000 secured bond and made his initial appearance on Friday, April 6 in Hertford County District Court to answer the charges.

His vehicle – a 1992 Oldsmobile passenger car – was seized by the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office pursuant to a state law dealing with felony speed to elude arrest cases.

According to a report filed by HCSO Lt. Thomas Helms, he and Chief Deputy Will Liverman were traveling Thursday morning on the Ahoskie-Cofield Road when they noticed a vehicle traveling at an estimated speed of 75 mph (in a 55 mph zone) and also swerving left of center.

Helms, driving an HCSO vehicle, activated his blue lights and siren, but the driver of the suspect vehicle failed to stop as it headed north towards Cofield.

As the suspect vehicle arrived at the intersection of the Ahoskie-Cofield Road and NC 45 in Cofield, Helms and Liverman witnessed it take a left turn onto NC 45 without stopping at the stop sign. It was at this point that Liverman recognized the driver as Shaquille O’Neal Carter.

At that point, Carter’s attempt to elude arrest turned into a high speed chase with speeds topping 100 mph.

Once Carter’s vehicle reached the intersection of NC 45 and Elks Road in Winton, HCSO Captain Michael Stephenson and Deputy Kimani Stanley had set-up spike strips in an effort to impact the tires on Carter’s car. However, Carter steered his vehicle off the shoulder of the road, avoiding the strips, and turned onto Elks Road.

The chase then moved to River Road. There, Carter ran the stop sign at the intersection of Farmer’s Chemical Road, traveling at a high rate of speed.

“Once Mr. Carter went through that intersection, I noticed him throw an object out the driver’s side window,” Lt. Helms noted in his arrest report.

As the chase neared the security gate at Nucor Steel, Carter turned his vehicle into the loading area of Tennessee Steel Haulers, where several employees were working. Helms’ report stated that Carter drove through the gravel parking lot where the passenger side front tire of his vehicle was damaged after impacting a pile of steel plates.

The chase continued; Carter steering his car between two parked 18-wheelers and then making a dash towards the front gate and back out onto River Road towards Cofield.

At the intersection of Farmer’s Chemical Road, HCSO Major Marty Davis had deployed spike strips, but Carter took to the shoulder of the road to avoid striking them.

Despite the damaged passenger side front tire, now throwing sparks from the rim, Carter continued to elude arrest as his speed was estimated at 80 mph. He turned off River Road onto Elks Road. Near the intersection of Elks Road and NC 45, HCSO Sgt. Scott Cofield had deployed spike strips. This time they worked as Carter’s car made impact, which caused damage to several tires.

The pursuit continued on Oak Villa Road, but at a slower speed with the two front tires totally flattened on Carter’s vehicle. As the chase neared Bluefoot Road, several vehicles were forced to swerve out of the way to avoid Carter’s car.

Carter turned left onto Bluefoot Road and then into a driveway, striking a 2009 Chrysler owned by Rose Mary Perry. He still attempted to avoid arrest by continuing down the driveway, but the pursuit ended there when Helms used the front bumper of his HCSO vehicle to pin the driver’s side door of Carter’s car.

As Helms and Liverman exited their vehicle, Carter was attempting to flee on foot by getting out of his car on the passenger’s side.

“We placed him on the ground, but he continued to resist,” Helms said in his report. “I was able to grab his left arm and Sheriff (Dexter) Hayes had arrived on the scene and grabbed his right arm. We were able to place Mr. Carter in handcuffs at that point.”

In addition to the charges filed by the HCSO, Trooper Jason Jones of the North Carolina Highway Patrol was summoned to investigate the crash involving Carter’s car and Perry’s vehicle. Damage to Perry’s vehicle was estimated at nearly $4,500.