Ahoskie Man Convicted on Federal Charges Relating to His Shooting at Hertford County Sheriff’s Deputies

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal jury convicted an Ahoskie man this week on charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

“Gun violence and attacks on law enforcement officers are an attack on the rule of law itself,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.  “We are prioritizing any case where a felon draws, levels, or fires a gun at law enforcement.  I personally met with the deputies in this case and commend their courage and poise under fire.  They did their jobs honorably, and we are proud to do ours in securing this guilty verdict.  The people of North Carolina should be grateful for their sacrifice and thankful they survived.”  

Hertford County Sheriff Dexter Hayes stated, “July 16 changed these deputies’ lives, today justice for that horrible day has been served. Thank you to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our FBI partners for their time and effort they put into the case. Thank you to the Deputies who were involved in this case – they did an outstanding job on July 16, 2023, and continue to do so today.”

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Talametrius Kenyon Spruill, 42, possessed four cartridge casings that were left behind after he fired at Hertford County Sheriff’s Deputies in the early morning hours of July 16, 2023. Deputies responded to a call about a suspicious person after a woman reported that someone was banging on her window at 3am that morning. The first responding Deputy found Spruill sitting in the front passenger seat of the homeowner’s vehicle, holding a firearm. The Deputy ordered Spruill to put the gun away when Spruill fled to the wood line behind the residence. The second Deputy saw Spruill in the wood line as he pulled up in his squad car. The Deputy immediately exited his vehicle with his gun drawn and announced, “Sheriff’s Office, Show me your hands!” as he approached Spruill, who was now crouched in a shallow drainage ditch behind a neighboring house. Spruill did not show his hands and instead fired a Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun four times at the Deputy. The Deputy retreated and returned fire while tripping over a doghouse on the property and getting bit by the resident dog. Despite the exchange of gunfire, neither the Deputy nor Spruill was struck. Spruill managed to evade Deputies and ditch his firearm in a junkyard. On the evening of July 17, 2023, Hertford County Deputies were dispatched to call about a suspicious person four miles away in Aulander, where they found Spruill attempting to crawl under his aunt’s home. Spruill was arrested and interviewed by the FBI, where he confessed that he was at the original crime scene, ran from the police, and discharged his firearm before getting rid of it in the junkyard. A video of the pursuit may be viewed here.

Spruill faces a maximum penalty of 180 months in prison when sentenced on a future date. Spruill still faces state charges of two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on government officials and possession of a firearm by a felon related to this incident.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the verdict. Hertford County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phil Aubart and Kimberly Dixon is prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.4:23-cr-00041-M-BM.