'Armed and dangerous' man near Zebulon taken into custody after nearly 9-hour search
ZEBULON, N.C. (WTVD) -- An active search took place from Monday afternoon until late evening, resulting in the apprehension of a man deemed armed and dangerous, according to the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office said in an alert sent to Wake County residents that 34-year-old Dustin Letchworth is in custody.
Letchworth is charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, human trafficking, promoting prostitution for profit, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
Manhunt Details
The search continued throughout the evening in the area near Ferrell Road and Pearces Road (Dukes Lake Road, Baker Road, Rosinburg Road) in Zebulon.
The saga began when deputies arrived at a home around 2:30 p.m. to take Dustin Letchworth into custody for several felony warrants when he ran out the back as authorities closed in on Knollwood Pond Lane, near Zebulon.
Authorities employed a K-9 officer to help in the search but were unable to locate him immediately.
Residents were asked to stay inside
A couple of hours after the search began, authorities set up a command post.
At a 6 p.m. media briefing. Sgt. David Bradford with the sheriff's office said authorities believed Letchworth was on foot.
"Our No. 1 focus is finding him," Bradford said. "We want to locate him, we want to get him in custody as safe as possible."
Bradford said "in excess of 20" law enforcement personnel were on the ground searching for Letchworth.
A resident on Knollwood Pond Road told ABC11 that Letchworth did have family in the neighborhood.
Bradford said the Zebulon Police, the State Highway Patrol, and deputies from Franklin County and Johnston County assisted with the effort. Helicopters and drones were also deployed.
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