GASTONIA, N.C. — A man pleaded guilty Monday to hitting two people during a police chase in Gastonia over the summer, killing one of them.
This was a controversial case because right after it happened in July, witnesses claimed it was the deputies who hit the victims.
Joshua Soule pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder.
[ RELATED: Law enforcement holds community meeting about deadly Gaston Co. chase ]
“I’m so sorry,” Soule said tearfully in court. “I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.”
Soule was driving on an expired license and when he saw deputies he took off, traveling in excess of 70 mph. His car also had bad brakes, which he knew because he had been in a previous accident.
Antrel Garnigan, 28, was killed in the crash and Shawn Smith was severely injured.
After the crash, the community and victims’ families thought a Gaston County sheriff’s deputy hit their loved ones, but the defense and prosecution both agreed that did not happen.
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“I think they believe that, but experts on both sides confirm that the car from the sheriff’s department did not hit those young men,” Gaston County DA Locke Bell said. “You see your best friend or brother flying through the air, you look at that, you see it and it’s almost like tunnel vision. The next thing you notice is a deputy’s car going through but your brain puts those two things together.”
Soule said he just wants the families to know he is sorry.
“I really would trade my life if it could stop this from happening,” Soule said. “I’ve hurt so many people.”
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