CAROLINA BEACH — A man who pointed a gun at law enforcement officers who were trying to serve a warrant pleaded guilty Thursday.
Robert Fitts, 52, pled guilty in New Hanover County Superior Court to fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
READ MORE: Wilmington man indicted for CB officer-involved shooting
Fitts will serve between 5.8 and 9.4 years in prison for the offenses that occurred July 2, 2022.
Following an early morning traffic stop in Carolina Beach on June 30, 2022, Fitts fled from officers in his girlfriend’s Dodge Nitro. Officer terminated the pursuit after Fitts drove recklessly at a high rate of speed while traveling off the island and into the Myrtle Grove area.
An arrest warrant was issued by the Carolina Beach Police Department following. Two days later, detectives saw the vehicle, driven by Fitts, parked at the Dolphin Lane Motel in Carolina Beach.
Officers knocked on the door where Fitts was staying with his girlfriend in attempt to get him to surrender. When he refused, officers made entry and saw the girlfriend on the bed and Fitts moving into the bathroom.
Detectives ordered him to come out, but Fitts raised a 0.38-caliber revolver toward them. Both officers fired at him in self-defense, shooting him multiple times.
Once Fitts’ gun was secured, officers performed life-saving measures on him, credited as saving his life, until paramedics arrived. Fitts was hospitalized for weeks before being released to the New Hanover County Jail. He’s been in custody awaiting trial since.
Both detectives were cleared of any wrongdoing after an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
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