RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Two men were recently sentenced to prison after a high-profile, high-speed chase and manhunt — with ties to a rapper feud — in Chatham County last summer, officials said.
The July 4 weekend incident involved four “armed and dangerous” suspects with two of them escaping and one of the pair staying on the run for more than a day, according to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
Inside the group’s abandoned car, officers found four firearms including a machine gun,
more than 120 rounds of ammunition, black ski masks and a ballistic vest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of North Carolina.
The incident began around 8:15 a.m. July 3 when troopers tried to pull over a car for speeding 94 mph in a 65 mph zone on U.S. 64 in Chatham County, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The driver failed to stop, leading to a chase with speeds over 130 mph, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.
The chase ended when the vehicle spun out in the median of U.S. 64 just east of Siler City. The four men inside the vehicle ran off into the surrounding woods. Two of the suspects were caught within hours, but the other two remained on the run.
Helicopters and K-9 units were in the area and a reverse 911 message was sent to residents.
Caleb Kenyetta Sheffield, 20, who was sentenced to four years in prison this week, was the last of the four to be caught, officials said.
Less than two weeks before the incident, Sheffield posted a YouTube rap video in which he “rapped about putting a switch on a Glock,” the U.S. Attorney’s news release said.
Sheffield was found with a Glock Model 17 9mm pistol which was equipped with a “switch that turns it into a fully automatic weapon,” the news release said.
Sheffield, of Jacksonville, Florida, was associated with the Ace’s Top Killers (ATK) which is named after rapper Yungeen Ace, the news release said.
At the time, ATK of Jacksonville, Florida, was in a public feud with the Kill Them All (KTA) gang, which had rapper Julio Foolio associated with it, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Foolio, also of Jacksonville, Florida, and Yungeen Ace were set to perform in North Carolina over the holiday weekend.
Sheffield was found guilty in an August four-day jury trial of two counts relating to his possession of an unregistered machine gun, officials said.
Adrian Lowery, who was arrested hours after the chase, pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced earlier this month to 71 months (5.9 years) in prison.
