Driver rams patrol cars in Alamance chase, arrested with glass pipe

Barry L. Bradley, 50, of Durham rammed and disabled two Orange County Sheriff’s Office patrol cars and was arrested after a multi‑agency chase that began at the Dollar General on South Churton Street in Hillsborough and ended on a dead‑end road behind a house and a business in southern Alamance County. Deputies said the driver was seen smoking a glass pipe when officers closed in.

The incident began around 2 p.m. after a deputy observed a black Hyundai Sonata driving on the wrong side of a double‑yellow line and committing traffic violations, then attempted a traffic stop. Deputies later learned a larceny had been reported at the Hillsborough Dollar General minutes earlier; investigators say items from that reported theft were later recovered from the Sonata.

The Sonata entered Interstate 85 westbound toward Alamance County, where North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers deployed stop sticks as the vehicle crossed into the county. Troopers’ intervention did not end the pursuit. The sheriff’s office release said the driver “drove in a ‘reckless manner,’ ramming into and disabling two patrol cars” as the Sonata exited onto N.C. 87 south and continued through residential areas.

After disabling the Orange County cruisers, the Sonata sped through several yards and crashed through fences before turning onto a dead‑end road and becoming stuck behind a home and a business, deputies reported. As officers from multiple agencies approached the vehicle, a deputy saw the driver smoking a glass pipe, authorities said. “When a deputy approached the Hyundai, he saw the driver smoking a glass pipe, according to deputies.”

Both occupants of the Sonata were taken into custody at the scene. The driver was identified as Barry L. Bradley, 50, and the passenger as Heather N. Stallings, 42, both listed as Durham residents. On the ride to the magistrate’s office, Stallings told a deputy she had asked Bradley to stop and let her out during the pursuit and that he refused, a statement deputies said Bradley later confirmed.

A post‑arrest search of the Hyundai turned up items that appeared to be from the Dollar General larceny, two glass pipes with cocaine residue, two pills and a broken phone, deputies said. Both Bradley and Stallings were transported to the Orange County Jail and were being held without bond under the Pre‑trial Integrity Act. No injuries were reported by authorities in the incident reports released so far.