Gunfire from a passing vehicle sent Newton police scrambling to North Caldwell Avenue earlier this week, and now a local man is facing charges after investigators say surveillance video helped them track down the shooter. Parker Deal has been charged with going armed to the terror of the people, an unusual legal charge tied to a shooting that residents reported hearing from a car driving through their neighborhood.
According to WSOC-TV, Newton police responded to the neighborhood after residents reported someone firing shots from a vehicle. Officers recovered several shell casings in the street, and investigators believe Deal was firing into the air during the incident, police say. Surveillance camera footage captured part of the shooting, according to police.
Surveillance Video Led Police to a White Jeep
Before Deal was identified as a suspect, Newton police had surveillance footage showing a white Jeep, with someone inside firing gunshots into the air along North Caldwell Avenue, according to a separate WSOC-TV report. Officers also stepped up neighborhood patrols while the search for the vehicle was underway. Police responded to North Caldwell Avenue following reports of the shooting.
North Caldwell Avenue is the site of the reported shooting. The station's report discusses the incident there.
An Uncommon Charge Rooted in Old Common Law
The charge against Deal, going armed to the terror of the people, is not found in North Carolina's written statutes. Instead, it is an ancient common-law offense classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the UNC School of Government. The offense relies on judicial precedent rather than legislative text to define its elements.
That precedent was recently reshaped by the state's highest court. In December 2023, the Supreme Court of North Carolina clarified in *State v. Lancaster* that the offense does not require proof that the conduct occurred strictly on a public highway, overturning narrower appellate court rulings, according to CaseMine. If convicted, a Class 1 misdemeanor is subject to North Carolina's misdemeanor sentencing guidelines, per Gilles Law.
A Pattern of Gunfire Calls in Newton
This is not the only recent drive-by shooting to hit Newton. In a separate incident on August 16, multiple .40-caliber rounds were fired into occupied units at the Day Break Apartments on East First Street, a case Hoodline previously reported resulted in an attempted murder charge. Newton, the county seat of Catawba County, has an estimated population of approximately 13,935 residents.
Newton Police joined the Catawba Valley Violent Crime Task Force in January alongside the FBI Charlotte Field Office, according to WCNC. WHKY also reported on Newton's police chief, per WHKY.
