A Flock license plate reader flagged a stolen vehicle rolling through Person County in the middle of the night, and within minutes a deputy says he was dodging gunfire on Durham Road. By the time the chase ended across the state line in South Boston, Virginia, eight law enforcement agencies had been pulled into the search for the man now facing an attempted first-degree murder charge.
The pursuit began on September 23, when deputies were alerted to a stolen vehicle traveling through Person County, according to WSET. A deputy located the car in the 2600 block of Durham Road near Patterson Drive after the agency's Flock Automated License Plate Reader system triggered an alert, as reported by 103.3 WAKG. The vehicle had originally been reported stolen out of Wake County, which sits just south of Person and Durham counties, the station notes.
When the deputy attempted to stop the car, the driver refused to pull over and instead fired multiple shots at him, per the WSET report. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident, the outlet adds. The vehicle then sped north on U.S. 501/Boston Road and crossed into Halifax, Virginia, pulling the chase across state lines.
Stop Sticks End the Chase in Virginia
South Boston Police Department was notified about the pursuit and joined in, eventually taking over primary responsibility for it, the station's report states. Person County deputies had already attempted a spike-strip deployment that didn't work, before South Boston officers successfully deployed stop sticks on U.S. Route 501 in Virginia to disable the fleeing vehicle, according to the same account from 103.3 WAKG. The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned, and authorities brought it back to Person County, North Carolina, where evidence was processed.
After the suspect fled on foot, local police asked residents near Seymour Drive and Ellyson Avenue in South Boston to check home surveillance footage for anything suspicious recorded between 1:05 a.m. and 2:20 a.m. that night, per 103.3 WAKG. Five days later, arrest records show, the suspect was identified as Maleek Daronta Boxley and formally booked into Person County custody. Recently Booked lists his booking date as September 28, 2026.
A Long List of Charges
Boxley now faces attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a government officer, two counts of felony flee to elude arrest, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to WSET. The charges also include reckless driving, discharging a firearm in the city, discharging a weapon into occupied property, injury to real property, possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and resisting a public officer, the outlet reports.
Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.2, assaulting a law enforcement officer with a firearm or deadly weapon while the officer is performing official duties is classified as a Class F felony carrying mandatory active prison time, according to Browning & Long, PLLC. Separately, attempted first-degree murder under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-17 is prosecuted as a Class B1 or B2 felony that can carry an active state prison sentence up to life imprisonment, per Beechler Tomberlin.
Eight Agencies Joined the Manhunt
The Person County Sheriff's Office says eight federal, state, and municipal agencies assisted in the multi-jurisdictional investigation and apprehension: the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Virginia State Police, Durham Police Department, Durham County Sheriff's Office, Roxboro Police Department, South Boston Police Department, and Halifax County Sheriff's Office, according to WSET.
The case underscores how quickly a single automated camera alert can escalate into a sprawling, multi-state operation. Person County's sheriff's office maintains a network of 10 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras along high-traffic corridors, while the neighboring Roxboro Police Department runs six more units within county boundaries, as Hoodline previously reported on local ALPR use. Statewide, data from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol shows troopers have averaged nearly three high-speed pursuits per day, with pursuit-related crashes causing 24 fatalities in a single year, according to footage reviewed from WRAL-TV.
Open questions remain about the exact circumstances of Boxley's September 28 arrest, whether Virginia prosecutors will pursue additional charges tied to the South Boston leg of the chase, and details about any firearm recovered during the investigation. Person County authorities have not released further specifics beyond confirming the arrest and the scope of the multi-agency effort.
