Local News

Driver in Hit-and-Run Rampage Pleads Insanity

A man accused of running down five people – killing one of them – in a three-county rampage four years ago pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday.

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Abdullah El-Amin Shareef, hit-and-run rampage suspect
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A man accused of running down five people – killing one of them – in a three-county rampage four years ago pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday.

Abdullah El-Amin Shareef, 29, of Raeford, is charged with murder and four counts of attempted murder in the case. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against him.

A trial date hasn't been set.

Authorities said Shareef stole a city-owned van in Fayetteville on April 14, 2004, and drove north. He hit and injured three men in Fayetteville, then ran over Lonel Bass in Linden, killing him.

Shareef abandoned the van, took Bass' pick-up truck and continued north, authorities said. They said he ran down another man in Harnett County before crashing the truck in Fuquay-Varina, where he was arrested.

Shareef's family said in 2004 that he has a history of mental illness. A psychiatrist ruled two years ago that he was competent to stand trial.

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