Driving while impaired cases dropped during investigation into NC troopers’ credibility
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Investigation into NC troopers after fatal crash
Tyrone Mason, 31, died after his car slammed into a concrete barrier on Capital Boulevard near Wake Forest Road in Raleigh the early hours of Oct. 7. A Highway Patrol trooper, after talking with his supervisor, did not immediately disclose that he had pursued Mason before the crash. Mason’s mother says she was told no officer chased her son before he died. What she learned on her own launched a state investigation into the officers’ behavior.
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The Wake County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed 180 pending cases, most linked to driving while impaired charges, while investigating whether a state trooper provided false or misleading information to Raleigh police about a deadly wreck on Oct. 7.
More dismissals, and possibly overturned convictions, will likely follow, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said. That’s due to concerns about the behavior of another trooper, who was in a supervisory role the morning of the wreck on Capital Boulevard, she said.
Raleigh police investigated the crash, saying in a press release that Tyrone Mason, 31, died after crashing his Chevrolet Malibu into a concrete barrier on Capital Boulevard at 2:30 a.m.
Freeman began signing the dismissals, first reported by Axios Raleigh, after she reviewed video from Trooper Garrett Macario’s dashboard and body cameras that was recorded around the time of the crash, she said.
Freeman declined to answer questions about whether Macario, 26, interacted with Mason before the fatal crash, saying the incident is still under investigation, which she expects to take several months.
The district attorney is also reviewing about a dozen cases investigated by Sgt. Matthew Morrison, who was supervising Macario on Oct. 7, she said. Some of the video that Freeman reviewed included statements from Morrison “that have brought into question his credibility,” she said.
Freeman said she doesn’t anticipate any criminal charges related to this investigation. But she’s dismissing cases in which Macario was the sole witness because his credibility in court would likely be challenged by defense attorneys because prosecutors are required to disclose such information, she said.
Freeman said she would also consider overturning previous convictions involving Macario that were finalized after Oct. 7, she said.
Freeman started the investigation on Dec. 23, after she received a call from the State Bureau of Investigation, she said. Someone had contacted the SBI, saying they believed a trooper provided inaccurate information to Raleigh police about the crash, she said.
Macario and Morrison, 40, were placed on administrative leave on Jan. 10, Trooper First Sgt. Christopher Knox said in an email. The men are assigned to a district that includes Wake County.
The Highway Patrol hired Macario in 2019 and Morrison in 2012, according to information provided by Knox. Knox didn’t answer questions about Macario’s interaction with Mason or why the trooper’s credibility was being questioned.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
