Sept. 11. Greyson Ferrell, 19, will spend at least seven years in prison for shooting a Cornelius police officer who responded to a call for assistance at his home on Coachman’s Trace.
Ferrell pled guilty in August to assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill and assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer. Superior Court Judge W. Todd Pomeroy sentenced Ferrell to 92-123 months in prison, the maximum penalty.
Fortunately, Lt. James Quattlebaum was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he was shot. Nevertheless, he was seriously injured and hospitalized.
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray said Ferrell ambushed police when they were called to investigate a domestic violence report in May 2015. Murray says a second officer fired back at Ferrell. Ferrell’s bulletproof vest stopped the shots, but the teen was knocked to the floor and the other officer took him into custody.
The then 16-year-old Ferrell had no criminal record prior to this incident. The Cornelius Police Department turned over the investigation to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
It was the first time a Cornelius Police officer had been shot in the line of duty. Quattlebaum recovered completely from the close call. Police described the incident as both a domestic dispute and an ambush.
