Two North Carolina men who shot at North Carolina police officers during a chase were apprehended in Treasure Island, Florida.
The two fugitives, Donald “Alfred” Billings, 50, and Alton Smoot, 26, were signaled to stop by Allegheny County, North Carolina deputies on at about 11:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018.
The pair, in Billings’s blue 2001 Toyota Tundra, fled instead of stopping. As they fled, they fired an AR-15 rifle and a handgun at the pursuing deputies. No deputies were hit or hurt, but they did cut off the pursuit.
Federal marshals tracked the pair to Pinellas County, Florida. On Aug. 17, marshals informed detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Violent Offender Warrant Unit about Billings and Smoot’s possible whereabouts.
The detectives found Smoot at the apartment of Billings’s ex-girlfriend, Tiffany McCord, 34, who lived in Treasure Island. Smoot was taken into custody around noon on Saturday, Aug. 18.
Pledged to Kill and Die
Billings had said he was not going to be taken alive, according to witnesses. Billings made a black-powder pipe-bomb and had the pistol and rifle, and a machete—he planned to shoot it out with law enforcement and take his own life if he could not escape, witnesses told deputies.Pinellas SWAT surrounded the apartment and spent several hours trying to convince Billings to surrender peacefully. Billings refused to communicate.
After many hours’ standoff, SWAT decided to use tear gas to drive Billings out of the apartment. When that didn’t work, SWAT officers forced entry and tossed flash-bang grenades into the apartment.
As the deputies were breaking down the various doors of the apartment and making entry, a fire broke out. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a press conference that no one was certain if the grenades started the fire, or if Billings had started it. When deputies entered, they found Billings immobile on the floor, his face and hands badly burned. He was taken into custody at 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 19.
Billings was transported to Tampa General Hospital’s burn unit.
The fire department was able to control and extinguish the fire.
Tiffany McCord was not charged. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told the press, “She was cooperative—she was scared of them.”
‘These Guys Were Bad People’
“There’s no question that Smoot and Billings are bad people. They have extensive histories” of violent crime Sheriff Gualtieri told the press.Billings was charged with warrants out of Alleghany County, North Carolina, for one count of attempted first-degree murder on law enforcement, one count of felony conspiracy to commit first-degree murder on law enforcement, and possession of firearm by felon.
Smoot was charged with warrants out of Alleghany County, North Carolina, for one count of attempted first-degree murder on law enforcement, one count of felony conspiracy to commit first-degree murder on law enforcement, one count of aggravated assault with gun, one count of aggravated assault with a weapon and one count of fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
“These guys are bad people and they were engaged in activity where they were willing to shoot it out with a cop. We are very fortunate that nobody was hurt and no law enforcement were hurt,” said Gualtieri.
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