At approximately 2 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, a Highway Patrol trooper, who is a member of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, attempted to make traffic stop for an equipment violation on 17th St. near Medical Center Drive in Wilmington. The driver, Jacquez Oshea Hill, 17, of Wilmington, failed to stop and a short pursuit ensued.
The vehicle, a 2002 Acura TL, eventually traveled north onto Carolina Beach Road where it lost control, striking a minivan before overturning. As a result of the collision, three of the four occupants in the Acura where ejected. The driver fled on foot but was quickly subdued by several good Samaritans until law enforcement officials took the suspect into custody.
Hill was charged with felony speeding to elude, four counts of felonious hit and run involving serious bodily injury, possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver heroin. In addition, a passenger, Taveon Quadeir Nixon, 17, of Wilmington, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver heroin.
All three of the occupants were transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center with serious but non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the minivan was treated and released.
For information relating to the collision investigation, please contact Lt. Jeff Gordon, Public Information Officer at (919) 306-7058 or Jeff.Gordon@ncdps.gov.
Several recent tips from Text-A-Tip and credible witnesses have tied this Acura to many of the recent shootings in the Wilmington area, and most strongly to the Dec. 29 shooting which damaged several homes on Harbor Dr. This investigative information was previously relayed to members of the Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of law enforcement officers from the Wilmington Police Department, N.C. Highway Patrol, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
The FBI’s partnerships with the local and state law enforcement agencies across North Carolina are critical to fighting and investigating gang violence. There are four Safe Streets Task Force operations across the state located in Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. Each task force is made up of dozens of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that investigate violent crime—specifically gangs. The goal is to take out the entire gang, from the street level criminals and dealers all the way up to the gang’s leaders.
Wilmington Police detectives are expected to file charges against Hill in connection the Harbor Dr. shooting in the very near future.
Further information regarding Hill’s charges will be released by the Wilmington Police Department’s Public Affairs office as it becomes available.
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