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Crime & Safety

Man Accused Of Killing VA Deputy And Fleeing Arrested After Being Spotted On Trail Camera

A Carroll County man wanted for killing a local sheriff's deputy was arrested over the state border in North Carolina on Sunday.

Michael Puckett is accused of killing on Carroll County deputy and wounding another. (Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office)

A man accused of shooting two Carroll County deputies, one fatally, was arrested a day later after being spotted on a wildlife camera, police say.

According to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, two of its deputies were called to do a welfare check at a residence at 13658 Fancy Gap Highway just before 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Arriving at the address, they encountered a man identified as Michael Puckett. The sheriff’s office says Puckett fired on the two deputies, killing Deputy Logan Utt and hitting the other in his ballistic vest.

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Puckett then fled, authorities say.

According to the Wytheville Police Department, Puckett was spotted on a wildlife camera in Surry County, NC, just before 7 a.m. on Sunday. He was arrested in the area later that day.

According to WXII 12, Puckett’s condition upon arrest was “good enough,” and he was responding to verbal commands.

The Virginia State Police; the FBI; U.S. Marshals; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; and local North Carolina law enforcement bodies all assisted in the search and investigation, authorities say.

Puckett will be extradited to Carroll County.

According to a statement by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Utt joined the department in 2023 after serving in the U.S. military.

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