North Carolina investigators use drone to arrest man in fatal shooting of Virginia deputy
Jun 1, 2026, 7:00 AM | Updated: 1:56 pm
DOBSON, N.C. (AP) — Investigators in North Carolina used a drone to find and arrest a man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a Virginia sheriff’s deputy who was conducting a welfare check, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as Michael Puckett, was found with a gun on Sunday night, two days after the shooting, as he was ringing the doorbell of a home several miles away from the Virginia state line. He was arrested in North Carolina’s Surry County and was booked without bond, the state’s bureau of investigation said in a news release. Multiple law enforcement agencies took part in the search.
Puckett, 55, faced an extradition hearing Monday in North Carolina. He did not have an attorney listed, a court clerk said. It was not immediately known where Puckett was from.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the fatal shooting occurred after law enforcement received a request from a family member to do a welfare check on Friday.
A man at the home began shooting, and the two sheriff’s deputies who had responded returned fire, the sheriff’s office said. Both deputies were hit.
Carroll County Sheriff Kevin Kemp said Deputy Logan Utt was killed. The second deputy, who was struck in his ballistic vest, was recovering at home and was in good condition, Kemp said at a news conference Sunday night.
Other people were in the home at the time. They were not hurt, Kemp said.
Utt, 31, was a military veteran who joined the department in 2023. A funeral procession was scheduled Monday afternoon from Roanoke, Virginia, to a funeral home in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
“He had a servant’s heart. He cared for others, he cared for his country, he cared for his family,” Kemp said.
