Garner: Felon in Veterans Parkway road rage shooting gets 137 months in federal prison

A Garner man who fired a shotgun into a woman's car on Veterans Parkway and then led deputies on a chase at more than 100 mph has been sentenced to 137 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina says.

U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Murad Terrell Taylor for possessing a gun as a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Taylor pleaded guilty to that charge on July 15. The federal sentence comes on top of a state prison term he received in March.

According to the federal release, Johnston County sheriff's deputies responded on Sept. 5, 2025, to a report that a driver had fired at another car on Veterans Parkway in Garner in a road rage incident. The shot went through the front passenger door, and the other driver was not hurt. The victim gave deputies the suspect vehicle's license plate number.

Background

Evidence at Taylor's state trial showed he followed a woman driving from a hotel in Garner to the intersection of Veterans Parkway and NC Highway 50 around 2:30 p.m., according to a Johnston County District Attorney's Office summary published by JoCo Report. When she stopped at a red light, he pulled alongside her and fired a 12-gauge pump shotgun through his open window into her passenger door, then drove off in a black SUV. A witness followed him and gave his description and plate number to 911 until told to stop for safety.

A deputy found the SUV, and a chase followed, with State Highway Patrol troopers joining as the vehicles went into Wake County on Interstate 40. Taylor reached speeds over 100 mph before exiting onto Jones Sausage Road, where he lost control and crashed into a vehicle stopped at a red light. He was taken into custody, and authorities recovered the gun and a spent shell from his vehicle.

A Johnston County jury convicted him of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, felony fleeing to elude arrest and possession of a firearm by a felon. Superior Court Judge Paul Holcombe sentenced him to consecutive state terms totaling 108 to 160 months. The case was prosecuted through District Attorney Jason Waller's Dangerous Offenders Task Force, which was created to move quickly on cases involving people who pose a serious threat to public safety.

"Cooperation between state and federal authorities remains one of our strongest tools against violent crime," Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said in the federal release.

The ATF and the Johnston County Sheriff's Office investigated the federal case. Court records can be found under Case No. 5:25-CR-269-FL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Related coverage

• Oxford federal gun and crack sentence
• Fayetteville federal carjacking indictment
• Raleigh federal firearms trafficking charges

What we don't know yet

Officials have not said whether the federal sentence will run at the same time as the state sentence or after it. Taylor's age is listed differently in the federal release and the state trial report, so Triangle Local is not reporting it. The woman who was shot at has not been named.

Timeline

• Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, about 2:30 p.m.: A driver fires a shotgun into a woman's car at Veterans Parkway and NC 50 in Garner. Deputies and troopers chase the suspect on I-40 into Wake County, and he crashes on Jones Sausage Road and is arrested (Johnston County DA via JoCo Report; U.S. Attorney's Office).
• Friday, March 13, 2026: A Johnston County jury convicts Taylor of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, felony fleeing to elude arrest and possession of a firearm by a felon (Johnston County DA via JoCo Report).
• Wednesday, March 18, 2026: Taylor is sentenced to consecutive state terms totaling 108 to 160 months (Johnston County DA via JoCo Report).
• Wednesday, July 15, 2026: Taylor pleads guilty in federal court to possessing a gun as a convicted felon (U.S. Attorney's Office).
• Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026: A federal judge sentences Taylor to 137 months in prison (U.S. Attorney's Office).