Suspect Caught In Case Of NC Trooper Killed In High Speed Chase

MOORESVILLE, NC — A suspect on the run after a Monday night chase and crash along Interstate 77 that claimed the life of a North Carolina State Trooper in Yadkin County has been located and is behind bars, according to law enforcement officials.

Trooper Samuel Newton Bullard, 24, was killed in a crash around mile marker 80 along the interstate while he was in pursuit of a black BMW that fled a drivers license checkpoint shortly before 11 p.m. on May 21.

Inside the vehicle, according to police, were Dakota Kape Whitt, 22, and Michaela Cheyenne Harrison, 19. The pair were traveling in the 2007 black BMW that was registered to Harrison, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Both Harrison and the car have been located, according to SBI.

Whitt, who was driving the car and wanted on warrants for murder, felony fleeing to elude law enforcement, and driving with a revoked license, was nabbed around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in Elkin, North Carolina. Elkin is about 50 miles north of Mooresville.

Whitt has been transported to the Wilkes County Detention Center in Wilkesboro, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

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The North Carolina Troopers Association offered a $1,500 cash reward for information leading to their capture, it said Tuesday on its Facebook page. The reward was initially set at $1,000 but was increased after a donation made by a private citizen.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Tuesday that it was mourning the loss of Bullard, who was a three-year veteran of the force and was assigned to Surry County.

“Our SHP family is devastated by the loss of Trooper Bullard. We are struggling to find words that describe the hurting we feel right now,” said Col. Glenn M. McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol. “Trooper Bullard died as he was fulfilling his promise to the people of North Carolina, protecting and serving his community.”

Photo courtesy of the Iredell County Sheriff's Office