Mebane Man Charged in Chapel Hill Shooting, Stolen Truck Case

Amir Geovonne James, a 19-year-old Mebane resident, faces a string of felony charges after Chapel Hill police say he fired six shots on North Roberson Street on March 16 and then stole a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado from a downtown parking deck three days later.

The gunfire was directed at a person in the block between West Franklin and West Rosemary streets, a heavily trafficked stretch of downtown Chapel Hill near the UNC campus. No injuries were reported.

On March 19, investigators linked James to the theft of the Silverado from a nearby parking deck. He is accused of damaging a gate arm while leaving the structure, causing approximately $200 in damage to the facility.

The Chapel Hill Police Department announced James's arrest on March 26. The arrest warrant lists five charges: felony discharge of a firearm into an enclosed space to incite fear, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm within city limits, going armed to the terror of people, and felony possession of a stolen vehicle.

Tracking James required a cross-county effort. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force all joined Chapel Hill police in the investigation. James's listed address places him in Mebane, roughly 25 miles west of Chapel Hill in Alamance County. The involvement of federal partners, particularly the Marshals Service and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, indicates investigators treated the case as something beyond a routine local disturbance.

Chapel Hill police described the March 16 shooting as an isolated incident, but the arrest warrant outlines a sequence of events across several days that ultimately required local and federal coordination to resolve.

The investigation remains active, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Chapel Hill Police Department.