Onslow DA says Thanksgiving shooting death of woman by OCSO deputy was justified
No criminal charges will be filed against an Onslow County Sheriff's Office deputy who shot and killed a local woman on Thanksgiving.
On Nov. 24, 2022, Sunshine Marie Foy, 42, of Gloucester in Carteret County, was shot and killed by a deputy with the OCSO at the residence of 210 Willow Street in Hubert. After reviewing the investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, District Attorney Ernie Lee said in a press conference Monday morning that he has determined Foy's death, while tragic, was justified because her actions caused the deputy to reasonably believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect his life and the lives of others.
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At approximately 11:34 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, an OCSO deputy attempted to pull over a truck for expired registration. Upon stopping on Willow Street, the passenger, later identified as Foy, fled the vehicle. The driver of the truck was cited for expired registration and driving while license revoked, Lee explained.
Lee said the evidence shows a female neighbor advised a deputy that Foy had entered a single-wide trailer at 210 Willow Street. Although the resident did not know Foy, they let her in anyway and she ran into a front bedroom.
The room was dark, Lee explained, so the deputy used his flashlight to search for Foy. He then observed Foy hiding behind some clothes hanging from a shelf and told her to come out. The deputy, using his hand, moved the clothes away from Foy, who then pulled a silver handgun and pointed it at him. The deputy was approximately one foot from her. She pulled the trigger, but the gun did not go off.
After Foy pulled her gun, Lee said the deputy stated he stepped back and tried to get cover behind a piece of furniture. He told her to drop the gun as he was drawing his weapon, which he did not draw until he saw the gun pointed at his face. At that time, the deputy's gun had one in the chamber and seventeen rounds in the magazine.
Lee said Foy pulled her weapon back a second time and attempted to fire her gun again. The deputy attempted to fire his gun but it either jammed or had a misfire. He then threw down his flashlight and used his left hand to rack the slide back to clear the malfunction, as his training taught him. Foy raised her gun up to the deputy's face a third time and the deputy stated he fired five to six rounds at her.
Lee said evidence shows Foy never actually fired her gun. Deputies did attempt life saving measures on Foy until EMS arrived, but she was later pronounced dead at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune as a result of three gunshot wounds and a possible laceration of the fingers on her left hand consistent with a gunshot wound.
Foy's handgun was loaded with three rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber, Lee added. There was no body camera footage to review.
Lee said a criminal record check of Foy showed she has multiple convictions in North Carolina between 1997 and 2019, including felonious financial card theft in Onslow County in 1997; simple possession of marijuana in Onslow County in 2005; common law forgery in New Hanover County in 2007; identity theft and obtaining property by false pretenses in Onslow County in 2007; financial card theft in Onslow County in 2016; and financial card theft and felonious speeding to elude arrest in Onslow County in 2019.
At the time of the shooting incident, Lee said she had pending drug offenses in Carteret County. There was an order for arrest pending for failure to appear in superior court for possession of heroin that was issued Nov. 17 in Carteret County. Lee said he believes this is why Foy fled.
"Based upon my review of the facts of this case, I have determined that the shooting of Foy on November 24, 2022, was justified to protect the safety and lives of the deputies on scene," Lee said. "The deputy who fired the fatal shots perceived an apparent threat, evaluated the situation in seconds, decided and acted. The deputy's actions appear reasonable under all the circumstances of this case."
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@jdnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow DA says Thanksgiving shooting death of woman by OCSO deputy was justified
