New Bern, N.C. – A Cary man, Joshua Whittlesey, 26, was sentenced today to 12.5 years in prison and $28,000 in restitution for carjacking, a brutal incident that also resulted in the wounding of a police dog.
Whittlesey, a resident of Cary, pled guilty to the charge on November 13, 2024. The crime unfolded on July 21, 2023, when Whittlesey arrived at Hendrick’s Cadillac in Cary, posing as a potential buyer for a Ford Raptor. During a test drive, he brandished what appeared to be a firearm, forcing the sales representative out of the vehicle and escaping with the car.
The chaos escalated as Whittlesey led police on a high-speed chase across Cary, Durham, and Raleigh, reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour. In a tragic turn of events, while evading law enforcement, he struck and wounded a Cary Police dog with the stolen vehicle. The dog survived the attack.
Whittlesey later abandoned the car in Burlington and was apprehended. He claimed that the firearm was actually a BB gun, but law enforcement failed to recover either the weapon or the car.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in North Carolina. The program, launched on May 26, 2021, strengthens PSN with a focus on fostering trust, supporting community-based organizations, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring results.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the sentencing after Whittlesey was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Cary Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jaren E. Kelly and Jake D. Pugh handling the prosecution.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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