Cary Police Officer Upgraded To Serious Condition

Emory Bivins, the man accused of shooting the officer, made his firstappearance at Wake Public Safety Center Friday afternoon. The Cary resident was assigned a court-appointed attorney, and his bail remains $1 million.

Police say that Bivins, 28, faces one count of Felonious Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill or Inflicting Serious Injury. The Class C felony carries a sentence of between 44 months and 210 months in jail.

Police believe Bivins is responsible for shooting Almond in the head during a routine traffic stop Wednesday night.

Bivins was cornered at a house Thursday in Garner after acar believed to have been involved in the shooting was found at thehouse. Cary police chief Windy Hunter communicated with the suspect by cell phone and coaxed him out of the house without incident.

Police searched the car, the Garner house and Bivin's Cary residence.

Bivins was transferred from the Cary Police Department to the Wake County Public Safety Center in Raleigh Thursday afternoon. Police say that he was also charged with a misdemeanor unrelated to the shooting.

Investigators searched Lake Wheeler Saturday for the gun that was used in the shooting, but they weren't able to find it.

Almond, 29, was performing a traffic stop at 11:50 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of U.S. 64 and Cary Parkway near Crossroads Plaza when he was shot once in the forehead with a 9mm handgun by the driver of the car he had stopped. Almond was discovered when other officers checked on him after he did not respond to radio calls.

"As soon as they got there, they saw Officer Almond in a pool of blood in front of his patrol car," said the police spokesman.

The officer was later taken to WakeMed, where he underwent surgery.

Police say they are also looking for John Lane, 26, of 412 Galveston Court in Cary. Police say Lane rented the car, a white 2001 Oldsmobile Alero with the North Carolina license plate NXC-3888, that was used in the incident. The car was rented from Enterprise Leasing based in Charlotte.

Police say that a dispatcher told Almond that the car had possibly been involved in suspicious activity 11 days ago involving weapons and /or drugs. In December, police say several calls were made, stating that individuals in the car may have had weapons.

Anyone with information may contact Crime Stoppers at 226-CRIM(E), pressing option 3 for Cary. All calls will be kept confidential at the caller's request.

Almond joined the Cary Police Department in 1997. He later worked for the State Bureau of Investigation before rejoining the Cary Police department in August 2001.

Almond has a wife, who is a teacher, and a two-year-old daughter. He is the first Cary police officer who has been shot in the line of duty.