No charges against NC deputies who fatally shot man on North Carolina Zoo property

Randolph County deputies who fatally shot a man on property of the North Carolina Zoo last year will not face criminal charges, the district attorney announced Monday.

Deputies fatally shot Troy Chase Caster Jan. 7, 2020, as he fled Rowan County into Randolph County, a release from the Randolph County District Attorney’s Office stated.

District Attorney Andrew Gregson said the deputies faced “an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to themselves or another deputy,” the release stated.

He determined the deputies’ use of deadly force was justified based on a report from N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent M. Johnson.

Caster was accused of trying to rob a taxi driver, the Salisbury Post reported. He allegedly pointed a gun at her when she asked him to pay. They fought for the gun, and it went off, damaging the car window, the newspaper reported.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office was also pursuing Caster and had obtained warrants accusing Caster of attempted armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, the Salisbury Post reported.

During the chase, Caster fired shots from a handgun. The chase ended on a gravel street behind the N.C. Zoo after deputies shot Caster multiple times. He did not survive.

This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM.