Johnston County DA rules no charges for deputies who shot man on mental health call
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- Johnston County DA cleared two deputies in February 2025 non-fatal shooting.
- SBI found deputies' gunfire justified after suspect threatened officers with gun.
- DA cited imminent threat and suspect’s refusal to comply as basis for no charges.
The Johnston County district attorney will not charge two county deputies in the non-fatal shooting of a man who had threatened to kill them, she announced Monday.
In a news release, DA Susan Doyle said the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation concluded the actions of Deputies Derek Leagan and Zachary Petri were “both reasonable and warranted.”
On Feb. 4, deputies responded to a call from a Clayton family that reported Anthony Wayne Collins was drinking heavily, had threatened to get into a shootout with officers and had three weapons, according to Doyle’s news release.
When the deputies arrived, Collins threatened to shoot them multiple times and ignored demands to put his hands up and get on the ground, Doyle wrote.
Leagan and Petri tracked Collins as he walked into the woods, where he shouted “I’m going to kill you” and reached for his gun, Doyle wrote..
Leagan and Petri then shot Collins several times, Doyle wrote. He was taken to WakeMed with non-life threatening injuries.
“Collins presented an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to Leagan, Petri and the other law enforcement officers on the scene when he refused to raise his hands as instructed, made continuous movements toward his weapons and repeatedly shouted threats to kill the deputies while reaching for his weapon,” Doyle wrote.
In another shooting by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Doyle decided two weeks ago not to press charges against Deputy Jonathan Lee, who shot and killed 24-year-old José Luis Rincón López last summer outside of a hospital in Clayton.
Doyle wrote then that Rincón López got into a struggle with Lee and grabbed his gun before Lee regained control and shot Rincón López.
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