Rockingham felon charged with fleeing officers, illegal firearm possession

ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Rockingham felon with firing a handgun and fleeing in a car chase.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, deputies were dispatched to the area of Ninth Avenue in East Rockingham in reference to a loud argument that involving the firing of a handgun.

911 dispatchers were informed that the suspect, Demetrius Lamar Hunter, 29, wrapped a handgun into something and placed it into the trunk of his car.

A deputy conducted a traffic stop with the alleged suspect in a vehicle that matched the description from a caller. Hunter gave deputies permission to search his vehicle.

“Once a deputy located a towel and a handgun fell out in the trunk area, Hunter jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off,” states a RCSO press release.

Following a short vehicle pursuit, Hunter jumped from his vehicle and fled into a residence. A deputy apprehended the suspect inside of the residence.

Hunter was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and resisting a public officer. Hunter was processed into the Richmond County Jail under a $25,000 bond.

According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Hunter has previous convictions for kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, illegal firearm possession and larceny of a motor vehicle between 2011 and 2018. He was released from prison in December of 2019.