Franklin County Sheriff's Office K-9 shot, killed by armed robbery suspect

A Franklin County Sheriff’s Office K-9 died after getting shot by a man accused of stealing a car Saturday in Granville County, authorities said.

William Darius Eichelberger, 21, is charged with seven felonies and has a $250,000 bond, according to a news release from the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. More charges are pending against Eichelberger.

Around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, law enforcement responded to a report of an armed robbery involving the theft of a motor vehicle. Witnesses had seen Eichelberger and the vehicle he’s accused of stealing in Antioch. Law enforcement found the vehicle on Saturday, but could not find Eichelberger.

On Sunday morning, Granville County deputies responded to a report of a fire in Antioch. Deputies determined Eichelberger could be hiding in the crawl space of a home and that he might still be armed.

Authorities established a perimeter and requested assistance from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office special response team to search the crawl space. The release states Eichelberger shot at Franklin County deputies, who also fired back at him.

No one else was injured in the shootout other than the K-9, the release states.

A Franklin County Sheriff’s Office crisis negotiator also tried to get Eichelberger to come out from underneath the home and surrender. Eichelberger eventually crawled out from underneath the home before deputies arrested him.

Authorities recovered an assault-style rifle from underneath the home.

Eichelberger had minor injuries and was taken by EMS for treatment, the news release said. He was released from medical care a short time later.

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are continuing the investigation.