Tykevious Owan Thomas, 27, of Vale, was sentenced to an active prison term of 10 to 13 years following his conviction for two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of firearm by a felon and admission of his armed habitual felon status.
The Honorable Jesse B. Caldwell, Superior Court Judge from Gaston County, imposed the sentence for Thomas after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, during Catawba County Superior Court.
The defendant will serve his incarceration period in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
His sentence length was enhanced by a previous Catawba County conviction for Discharging a Weapon into an Occupied Dwelling/Moving Vehicle in November 2010.
The convictions for assault with a deadly weapon came from a July 23, 2018, incident when officers from Hickory Police Department responded to a report of shots fired. The victims were in a parking lot when Thomas and a co-defendant drove by. They stopped, got out of the vehicle, and Thomas started shooting at the two men.
When he was located and captured with the firearm in his possession two days later, Thomas told investigators he felt threatened by the men, so he shot at them.
On August 18, 2017, HPD officers responded to a report of shots fired near a local apartment complex and were told that three men were running in the area with guns. Officers located men matching the description, and Thomas was one of them. When searched, officers found a gun in his back pocket. The defendant confessed to possessing the weapon. He previously had been convicted of a felony.
The cases were investigated by Daniel Orders and David Moore of Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Sean Baetjer handled prosecution for the State.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org