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dIED 4/10/22
A Franklin County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was shot and died after a man who stole a vehicle in Granville County Saturday got into a shootout with deputies while hiding under a house Sunday, authorities said. The man was eventually caught and is being held on a $1 million bond while facing several charges, according to a news release from the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. The incident began around 3:15 p.m. Saturday when a man stole a car at gunpoint in the Antioch Road area southeast of Oxford, the news release said. The stolen car and suspect were later spotted, and the car was recovered but the suspect ran from the scene, deputies said. Deputies searched the area, but the man was not found. Then, Sunday morning, deputies were told about a suspicious fire in the Antioch Road and West Antioch Drive area southeast of Oxford. When authorities investigated the fire they learned the armed robbery suspect was hiding in a crawl space under a home — and was possibly still armed, the news release said. Extra deputies were called to the scene. “As the Special Response Team was attempting to clear the crawl space of the residence, they received gunfire from a suspect hiding in the crawl space,” the news release said. Franklin County deputies fired back and then retreated to a safe area, the news release said. A crisis negotiator was called to the scene and spoke with the suspect under the house. K9 Major was released into the crawl space to apprehend the subject. The man fired two shots at K9 Major with an AK-47 rifle, killing him, before exiting the crawl space and surrendering.K9 Major had served with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for three years. “An assault-style rifle was recovered from underneath the residence.” After a while, the robbery suspect crawled out and was taken into custody. William Darius Eichelberger, 21, had minor injuries and was taken by EMS for treatment, the news release said. He was released from medical care a short time later.
Eichelberger was charged with:
Assault on a law enforcement agency K-9 – felony
Assault on law enforcement officers with a firearm – felony
Breaking and/or entering – felony (2 counts)
Breaking and entering a motor vehicle – felony
Larceny after breaking and entering – felony
Possession stolen firearm – felony
Robbery with dangerous weapon – felony
Possession of stolen goods/property – felony
Larceny of motor vehicle – felony
No one else was injured in the shootout. The North Carolina SBI is investigating the incident.
