N.C. Cop Shot By U. South Couple Recovering; Suspect Fights Extradition

(RR Daily Herald)

The North Carolina police officer who shot was by an Upper Southampton couple two weeks ago is as comfortable as possible according to his wife.

Officer John Taylor of the Roanoke Rapid police department in North Carolina was wounded when Michael Edgerton, 38, who killed himself, and Renee Phillips, 43, who is in custody, shot Officer Taylor when he pulled over the stolen car they were driving on I-95. Both Edgerton and Phillips were residents of Upper Southampton.

Bucks County officials announced Phillips faces a new warrant in Pennsylvania due to a court date she missed before the shooting.

Taylor is back at his home recovering from the four gunshot wounds he received two weeks ago.

“We see a long road ahead, but certainly a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Kristen, Officer Taylor’s wife.

The Roanoke Rapid police chief tells WNCT-TV that the first words Taylor spoke after arriving in the hospital was “Did we get them?”

Police discovered the suspects more than 24-hours after the shooting after a manhunt that included federal officials.

Police apprehended Philips, finding Edgerton dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in some nearby bushes.

“The next time that we spoke, he was glad that they had been apprehended and no one else was in danger,” said the North Carolina town’s police chief.

Police in Middletown, P.A. say that Edgerton and Phillips stole a green compact car from an apartment complex in the township. The two discovered weapons in the car and one of them was later used to shoot Taylor.

Edgerton and Phillips were arrested by Bucks County authorities in late summer after stealing a car from Upper Southampton both were held and released days later.

Days before Edgerton was arrested in the Upper Southampton car theft a warrant was issued for his arrest in Delaware County after it came to light Edgerton violated his parole. Phillip’s is fighting extradition to Pennsylvania and will appear in court in North Carolina next Wednesday.

Taylor’s wife says her husband can’t wait to go back to work.

Tom Sofield (tsofield@buxmontnews.com)

Online Editor