Drone helps capture man suspected of shooting of 2 Virginia sheriff's deputies, killing 1
A manhunt for the suspect who allegedly shot two Virginia sheriff's deputies, one fatally, ended Sunday night when law enforcement officers used a drone to zero in and capture him in North Carolina, authorities said.
Michael Puckett, 55, was allegedly armed with a handgun and ringing the doorbell of a home in Mount Airy, N.C., when officers moved in at about 8:32 p.m. ET and made the arrest, ending an intense three-day search for the fugitive, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
Puckett's capture came after the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service offered a combined $60,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.
The Carroll County Sheriff's Office identified Deputy Logan Utt, a military veteran and a member of the agency since 2023, as the deputy who was killed in the exchange of gunfire with Puckett on Friday night at a home near Richmond, Virginia.
A second Carroll County sheriff's deputy was injured in the shooting when a bullet struck him in his bulletproof vest, Carroll County Sheriff Kevin A. Kemp said in a statement over the weekend.
Utt and the other sheriff's deputy were sent to the home around 9:26 p.m. local time to conduct a welfare check when they came in contact with Puckett, who allegedly opened fire on them, Kemp said.
The deputies returned fire as Puckett allegedly fled the scene, Kemp said, who added that a motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
The search for Puckett expanded to North Carolina after the fugitive was spotted on Sunday around 6:56 a.m. ET on a wildlife game camera in Surry County, north of Mount Airy, the Wytheville, N.C., police department said in a statement on Facebook.
North Carolina law enforcement officers swarmed the Mount Airy neighborhood where Puckett was seen, establishing a perimeter and deploying a drone, according to the SBI.
"SBI Agents, utilizing a drone, located the suspect moving from one location to another and made the arrest as he was ringing the doorbell of the residence. The suspect was still armed at the time of arrest," the SBI said in its statement.
Kemp called Utt a "hero," whose "lifelong dream" was to become a sheriff's deputy.
"Deputy Utt was a devoted husband, loving father, cherished family member, friend, and respected member of our law enforcement family," Kemp said. "His service, courage, and dedication will not be forgotten."
ABC News' Benjamin Stein, Matt Foster and Michael Pappano contributed to this report.
