A Coats police officer is facing a felony charge after a late-November shooting at a Speedway convenience store, a case that has now landed in the hands of state investigators. Authorities say the officer shot a man while trying to take him into custody in Coats on Nov. 28, 2025. The officer was arrested at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and is expected to appear in Harnett County court on Thursday morning, May 21, 2026.
Arrest and indictment
According to ABC11, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation took 49-year-old Ricardo Sylvester Anderson into custody on May 20 as he returned from an out-of-state trip. A Harnett County grand jury had already returned an indictment on May 18, charging Anderson with one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
How the November shooting unfolded
WRAL reports that the SBI said the shooting happened around 9 p.m. on Nov. 28 in the 300 block of North McKinley Street, at a Speedway convenience store in Coats. According to the state agency, Anderson shot a man during an altercation, and multiple agencies responded to the scene. The SBI later opened an independent investigation at the request of the Coats police chief, a sign that the small-town incident had quickly become a state-level concern.
Victim, bond and processing
As reported by ABC11, the man who was shot was identified as Michael Ricardo Talamentes. He was struck in the leg and taken to WakeMed for treatment. ABC11 also reports that Anderson was processed at the Harnett County Detention Center, given a $25,000 bond and is due in Harnett County court on the morning of May 21. The SBI investigation remains active, so more details about what happened that night could surface in the coming weeks.
What the charge means
The charge, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, falls under North Carolina's felonious-assault statute. Per the North Carolina General Assembly, G.S. 14-32(b) treats an assault with a deadly weapon that inflicts serious injury as a Class E felony. That classification carries significant penalties if prosecutors can prove all the elements of the offense in court.
What’s next
Anderson's initial hearing was scheduled for the morning of Thursday, May 21, 2026. If prosecutors decide to move forward, the case will work its way through the Harnett County court system while the SBI continues its investigation. The Coats police department and the Harnett County district attorney's office did not immediately provide additional comment, leaving the courtroom as the next place where anything substantial is likely to unfold.
