Wake Forest police arrest woman wanted in Dallas shooting

Wake Forest police helped take a Dallas shooting suspect into custody in Wake County, turning a violent case from Texas into a local arrest with interstate implications. Marquita Marie Rice, 31, was located in Wake Forest on May 26 and arrested by the Wake Forest Police Department with the U.S. Marshals Service.

Dallas police said Rice was wanted in connection with a March 1 shooting in the 1800 block of Sedona Lane in Dallas, where a man was shot around 4:15 p.m. The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition and survived. Investigators said the victim knew Rice, and they tied the case to a food delivery the man had not ordered before the ambush and the suspect’s flight from the scene in a vehicle.

Dallas police charged Rice with aggravated assault/family violence with a weapon. The arrest in Wake Forest put Wake County officers into the middle of a case that began more than 1,000 miles away, a reminder that local police here are often pulled into larger fugitive searches that move across state lines. In a county shaped by major highways, new housing and steady daily movement through the Triangle, the work of identifying and detaining wanted suspects can quickly become part of a broader regional investigation.

Rice made her first appearance in Wake County court on May 27 and refused extradition back to Texas. A judge set bond at $1 million, and she was scheduled to return to court on June 25. As of June 10, Rice remained in custody at the Wake County Detention Center.

The case shows how cooperation between local and federal agencies can close a loop on a violent crime even when the arrest happens far from the original scene. For Wake Forest, it was not a new local shooting case, but it was a clear example of Wake County law enforcement helping identify, locate and hold a wanted suspect for another jurisdiction.