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The suspect, identified as Michael Puckett, was found with a gun
on Sunday night, two days after the shooting, as he was ringing
the doorbell of a home less than several miles from the Virginia
state line in Surry County, North Carolina. He was arrested
booked without bond, the state's bureau of investigation said in
a news release. Multiple law enforcement agencies took part in
the search.
Puckett, 55, appeared for an extradition hearing Monday, where
he waived his right to a court-appointed lawyer and awaited
transport to Virginia, WXII-TV reported.
In Virginia, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the fatal
shooting occurred after law enforcement received a request from
a family member to do a welfare check on Friday.
A man at the home began shooting, and the two sheriff's deputies
who had responded returned fire, the sheriff’s office said. Both
deputies were hit and the man ran away. Other people were in the
home at the time. They were not hurt, according to Carroll
County Sheriff Kevin Kemp.
Deputy Logan Utt was killed. The second deputy, who was struck
in his ballistic vest, was recovering at home and was in good
condition, Kemp said Sunday.
There was a massive search for the the suspect, who was “spotted
on wildlife game camera in Surry County North Carolina,” north
of the city of Mount Airy, on Sunday morning, police said. A
drone was used to track his movements.
Utt, 31, was a military veteran who joined the department in
2023. A long procession of law enforcement vehicles escorted his
remains Monday afternoon from Roanoke, Virginia, to Mount Airy,
where Utt was a former firefighter.
“He had a servant's heart. He cared for others, he cared for his
country, he cared for his family," Kemp said.
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