Judge finds accused I-40 shooter competent for trial in Wake County

Gunfire along Interstate 40 left Wake County drivers ducking for cover, cars riddled with bullets, and homes damaged across southwest Raleigh. Now the case against Andrew Thomas Graney is moving again after a Wake County judge found him competent to stand trial in the November 2024 shooting spree that injured one woman and spread fear across neighborhoods near the corridor.

Graney, 25, had been in jail since his arrest on Nov. 7, 2024, but the case sat in limbo while the court sorted out his mental-health status. A later court order found him incapable of proceeding and sent him to Central Regional Hospital for treatment. Judge Jennifer Bedford has now ruled that he can assist in his own defense and move forward in any criminal trial, while also ordering at the defense’s request that he continue receiving mental-health treatment at Central Regional Hospital as long as needed.

The shootings unfolded over four days, from Nov. 4 through Nov. 7, 2024, and Raleigh police said there were 12 related shooting incidents in southwest Wake County. Investigators said eight vehicles and four homes were struck by gunfire, and court reporting identified the wounded victim as a woman hit in the leg while inside her car. One judge later described the case this way: “This is one of those cases that put fear in the heart of the entire community.” Residents and drivers were warned to avoid I-40 as the investigation widened.

Police said the case came together through surveillance video, ballistics testing, vehicle descriptions and cellphone tower data. Bullet casings were linked to the same firearm, investigators believed Graney used a Llama .45 Max 1 handgun, and his vehicle and phone were tied to the scenes through witness descriptions and tower records. A reward of up to $10,000 had been offered for information leading to arrests.

Graney was charged in November 2024 with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and 11 counts of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling. North Carolina State University said he was a senior anthropology major who had been enrolled since fall 2019. He was initially held without bond, and another person detained during the investigation was later released without charges. With competency settled, the case can now move back toward plea talks or trial, bringing the court one step closer to resolving one of the most unsettling crime sprees Wake County has seen in recent years.