Two face felony charges after road-rage shooting south of Graham

A roadside dispute south of Graham turned into gunfire on South NC 87 Highway, where deputies say a black Dodge Charger followed a driver from a gas station, a bottle was thrown, and a gun was fired alongside the victim’s vehicle.

The encounter unfolded around 2:30 p.m. on April 29, when the victim had just left the gas station and the Charger, which had been in the same parking lot, began trailing him down the highway. Investigators say someone inside the suspect car threw a bottle before the vehicle pulled alongside and a shot was fired. No one was hurt, but the case quickly escalated from a traffic complaint to a felony weapons investigation because of the danger to anyone traveling that stretch of road.

Detectives canvassed the area, reviewed video and gathered evidence before identifying two suspects: 26-year-old Justin Ryan Green of Burlington and 20-year-old Analee Joy Nygren of Graham. The victim later identified both Green and Nygren in a photo lineup at the sheriff’s office.

On May 4, investigators executed a search warrant at Green’s home and vehicle. With help from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and the Chatham County Probation Office, both suspects were taken into custody in Chatham County that same day.

Green faces felony possession of a firearm by a felon, felony discharge of a firearm from an enclosure to incite fear, assault by pointing a gun, a felony probation violation out of Chatham County and a warrant from Guilford County. Nygren is charged with felony accessory after the fact, felony conspiracy, reckless driving with wanton disregard and driving while license revoked.

Green’s total bond was set at $210,000. Nygren’s secured bond was set at $5,000.

The case landed with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, the county’s lead law-enforcement agency under Sheriff Terry S. Johnson, who has held the post since 2002. The office handles patrol, investigations, detention and court duties, a mix of responsibilities that helped push the case from a highway confrontation into a coordinated arrest operation involving county probation officers and deputies across jurisdiction lines.

For Alamance County drivers who use South NC 87 Highway every day, the case is a stark reminder that a moment of rage on a familiar road can turn into a felony shooting in an instant.