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wong
Published Jun. 18, 2008
Waynesville – A Florida man faces first-degree murder charges this morning in the shooting death of a N.C. State Highway Patrol trooper Tuesday night on Interstate 40.
Haywood County Sheriff’s deputies and Canton Police apprehended Edwardo Wong II, 37, of Ormond Beach, Fla., at Scruggs Circle in Canton, off of Newfound Road, after spotting his vehicle traveling near the shooting scene.
Wong is accused of shooting Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. twice after Blanton pulled over his pickup truck near exit 31 on I-40 for a traffic violation.
"He [Wong], without any regard for human life at all, shot Trooper Blanton on the side of the road and he died as a result of that," said Lt. Everett Clendinin with the Highway Patrol in Raleigh.
Wong is being held at the Haywood Couny Detention Center without bond.
Blanton reported stopping Wong’s 1996 GMC pickup truck at 10:20 p.m. He got Wong out of the vehicle and an altercation ensued. Wong shot Blanton twice, once in the shoulder and another bullet grazed his wrist, authorities said.
Emergency dispatchers received a "barrage" of 911 calls around 10:24 p.m. Deputies and police officers took Wong into custody at within 20 minutes of the calls, locating his vehicle based on callers’ descriptions, Haywood County Sheriff Tom Alexander said.
Alexander said deputies on the scene reported being shot at, but they did not fire shots and his office is still trying to confirm if the suspect fired on officers before his arrest.
Blanton was taken to Mission Hospitals where he later died.
Investigators recovered three weapons from Wong, including Blanton’s service handgun. They will be conducting ballistics tests to determine which gun killed Blanton.
Clendinin said Wong lingered at the shooting scene, non-chalantly searching over Blanton’s person before fleeing.
"The whole thing is just a sickening act," he said.
Clendinin said investigators also discovered narcotics in Wong’s vehicle.
Wong has a lengthy criminal history in Florida including convictions for assaulting a law enforcement officer, felony drug violations, felony possession of firearms and others dating back to 1994, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Blanton, 24, of Cherokee, was a two-year veteran of the patrol. He was married and had a two-week-old child.
This is the story from the Asheville Times
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June 18, 2008 12:25 p.m.
GOLO member since March 17, 2008
June 18, 2008 12:22 p.m.
There are links also to pictures, other stories.
BTW: The trooper is a brand new dad, a former high school football player, and a youth coach.
I believe the phrase "waste of oxygen" is QUITE appropriate for the arrested suspect.............
FE
June 18, 2008 12:16 p.m.
GOLO member since March 17, 2008
June 18, 2008 12:13 p.m.
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June 18, 2008 12:10 p.m.
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June 18, 2008 11:59 a.m.
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June 18, 2008 11:55 a.m.
GOLO member since September 5, 2007
June 18, 2008 11:55 a.m.
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June 18, 2008 11:50 a.m.
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June 18, 2008 11:47 a.m.
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