Death penalty sought in trooper's shooting

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — The prosecutor handling the case against a Florida man accused in the fatal shooting of North Carolina Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. wants to seek the death penalty.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wednesday that Haywood County District Attorney Michael Bonfoey asked a judge to decide whether there is enough evidence to try Edwardo Wong II for capital murder. The judge has not yet scheduled a hearing.

A Haywood County grand jury indicted Wong Monday on charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

The State Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry, believes Blanton stopped Wong near Canton. Four minutes after that, the Haywood County Sheriff's Office started getting 911 calls saying Blanton had been shot.

Blanton died at the hospital. A sheriff's lieutenant arrested Wong 10 minutes after the shooting.

SBI agents found three pistols in Wong's truck – a Sig Sauer P229, a 9 millimeter Springfield Armory XD and a 9 millimeter Keltec P11.

The Highway Patrol has said one of the guns found in Wong's truck was Blanton's service weapon, but that he was not shot with his own gun.