Man charged in North Carolina highway shootings will remain in jail for now

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A 23-year-old man suspected of shooting at least eight vehicles on a busy North Carolina highway and several homes in recent days, wounding one person, will remain in custody without bond for now, a judge ruled Friday.

Andrew Thomas Graney was arrested Thursday at a home in Raleigh, the state capital. Two dozen law enforcement officers with guns drawn approached the home and later led two people out in handcuffs, WRAL-TV reported. The other person was released without charge, police said.

Graney, 23, is charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to kill or inflict serious injury and 11 counts of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, police said in a statement. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive.

Graney, a senior at North Carolina State University, made his first court appearance on Friday via videoconference for a hearing to set bond and his next court date. He chose to have a court-appointed attorney, Ricky Elmore. Wake County Chief Public Defender Deonte’ Thomas said in an email after the hearing that Elmore has met with Graney, but that the office had no further comment.

Bullet casings found at most of the shooting scenes preliminarily matched the same firearm; Graney's vehicle matched descriptions of a vehicle at some of the locations; and cellphone tower data placed his phone at each of the sites, Wake County Assistant District Attorney Stacy Newton said.

“This was an absolutely senseless and random series of acts of violence,” Newton said.

District Judge Debra Sasser ultimately decided to withhold bond, citing the fact that the shootings took place over four days. A future judge may allow bond, but Graney would need to prove he is not a danger to the public.

“This is one of those cases that put fear in the heart of the entire community,” Sasser said. “I had colleagues tell me, texting me, ‘don’t go on I-40 today.' And I'm sure many other people in the community received that as well.”

Relatives of Graney did not immediately respond to voicemails or emails seeking comment.

Graney's mother, Treka Graney, told WRAL she had not seen her son for several months and he was not raised with guns in the home. “This is not my son,” she said.

“It totally took me off guard,” she said. “It is totally out of character. ... He’s a sweet boy. Everybody loves him. He always stands up straight, he’s very polite. He always follows the rules.”

The shootings, which apparently began Monday, began to get attention after several people reported gunfire on a stretch of Interstate 40 in Raleigh and the suburb of Cary around the Wednesday morning rush, police said. Reports of similar shootings then emerged.

Authorities said eight vehicles were struck, including two on Monday, four on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Four area homes were shot on Wednesday, police said. All were connected, Raleigh's police chief said.

One of the shots struck a woman in the leg early Monday while she was traveling on I-40, police said. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening. Most of the cars that were shot contained only the driver, but one had four occupants, authorities said in court records. People were also in the homes when they were shot, police said.

Investigators believe a Llama .45 Max 1 handgun was used in the shootings, court records show.

Graney's next court appearance is Nov. 27.

The attacks are just the latest highway shootings in the U.S. In Kentucky in September, law enforcement led a massive, multi-day search for a man who shot 12 vehicles and wounded five people on Interstate 75. The man’s remains were later found and identified.

Man is charged in highway shootings around North Carolina's capital city

Man is charged in highway shootings around North Carolina's capital city

Raleigh police officers, some in tactical gear, work the scene where two people were detained Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7, 2024, on Kentford Court in Raleigh Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, after someone repeatedly fired at cars on a busy highway near North Carolina’s capital this week, injuring one person. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu.

The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial.

The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment.

But in a video released earlier Thursday, Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.”

“My opponents on the left and in the media found a new-old target. They mercilessly attack my wife, Sara,” he said. He called the program ”false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.”

It was the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus — highlighted by the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial. The pair have also had a rocky relationship with the Israeli media.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favors with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.

The report obtained correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former aide to the prime minister who died of cancer last year. The messages indicated that Sara Netanyahu encouraged police to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and ordered Bleiweiss to organize protests against her husband's critics. She also told Bleiweiss to get activists in Netanyahu's Likud party to publish attacks on Klein.

Klein is an aide to billionaire Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and has testified in the corruption case about her role in delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of champagne, cigars and gifts to Netanyahu for her boss.

According to the report, Sara Netanyahu mistreated Bleiweiss, prompting her to share the messages with a reporter shortly before her death.

Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behavior toward her personal staff before. This, together with accusations of excessive spending and using public money for her own extravagant personal tastes, has earned her an image as being out of touch with everyday Israelis. In 2019, she was fined for misusing state funds.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees police and has repeatedly said Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara should be fired over a series of grievances against her, said the latest announcement was another reason for her to be dismissed.

“Someone who politically persecutes government ministers and their families cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” he said.

And Justice Minister Yariv Levin, another Netanyahu ally and critic of Baharav Miara, accused her of focusing on “television gossip.”

“Selective enforcement is a crime!” he said in a statement.

AP correspondents Eleanor H. Reich in New York and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed reporting.

FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from left, his wife Sara Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 2023 that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel, Oct. 27, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, attends the fifth day of testimony in his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (Debbie Hill/Pool Photo via AP)