A Morganton man already serving a lengthy prison sentence will spend more time incarcerated following his conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon and attempted trafficking during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, January 30, 2019.
Marshall Shane Freeman, 30, pleaded guilty to those charges, and his active prison term of 10 to 13 years was imposed by the Honorable Nathaniel J. Poovey, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County.
Freeman will serve his sentence in custody of the North Carolina Division of Corrections at the end of the term he currently is serving for May 2018 convictions on similar charges from Gaston County. The sentence for those convictions is set to expire in 2031.
The offenses took place on February 7, 2018, when Freeman robbed a Hickory pharmacy at gunpoint. He handed a note to a pharmacy technician demanding specific opiate narcotics while brandishing a handgun.
The defendant left with several bottles of pills but was identified through surveillance video.
Morganton Department of Public Safety officers were contacted about a suspicious vehicle and possible drug activity near Freeman’s residence later that night. When they made contact with Freeman, officers found a handgun in his waistband as well as bottles with pills in them on his person and in his vehicle, some of them still in a bag from the pharmacy.
Freeman confessed to the crimes on scene and later gave another confession when interviewed by officers with Hickory Police Department.
Shanna Hudson led the investigation for Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Sean Baetjer prosecuted the cases for the District Attorney’s Office.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org