Asheville Attorney Facing Murder Charge Arrested in Georgia, Assaulted Troopers

Patrick Tucker Wood, a 36-year-old Weaverville bankruptcy attorney facing a second-degree murder charge in Buncombe County, was arrested in Berrien County, Georgia on March 17 after allegedly driving under the influence and assaulting two Georgia State Patrol troopers during the stop. According to his arrest warrant, Wood tried to headbutt the troopers twice while in handcuffs, breaking one trooper's finger and opening a laceration on another trooper's arm.

Georgia authorities charged Wood with felony aggravated battery, felony willful obstruction of law enforcement, felony aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer engaged in official duty, driving under the influence, and additional traffic violations.

Wood had been staying in Georgia after posting a $300,000 bond on Sept. 30 and walking out of the Buncombe County Detention Facility, where he had been held since August 2025. Buncombe County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested him on Aug. 17 following the shooting death of Jason Gary Cole, 43, of Weaverville. Cole was found with a gunshot wound just after 10 p.m. on Aug. 16 at 1990 Old N.C. 20 in Alexander, after what investigators described as an altercation outside the home.

Capt. William Addison of the Berrien County Sheriff's Office contacted Buncombe County prosecutors on March 18 to notify them of Wood's Georgia arrest. Assistant District Attorney Katie Kurdys filed a motion two days later in Buncombe County Superior Court to revoke Wood's bond, writing that Wood had become "extraordinarily violent and resistant" when the state trooper stopped him and arguing the revocation was "prudent and necessary to ensure the safety of the community."

Visiting Superior Court Judge Louis Trosch granted the motion on March 23, ordering Wood held under no bond and returned to Buncombe County custody. As of March 26, Wood remained in the Berrien County Sheriff's Office jail, pending transfer proceedings.

The Georgia charges now stack on top of the still-active murder case in Buncombe County, creating parallel proceedings in two states. Wood faces extradition hearings before any transfer to North Carolina can be completed, and the bond revocation order means he will not be released regardless of what happens in Berrien County. Buncombe County court records and prosecutor filings will carry the next official updates on transfer timing and scheduling in the murder case.