MAN SHOT DURING SEARCH OF HOME

Officers Were Looking For Drugs

PRINCETON - A 50-year-old Princeton man was in serious condition Sunday
after being shot by a Johnston County Sheriff's narcotics officer trying to
serve a search warrant.

Larry Gene Rawlings, 50, was shot one time in the chest about 7:30 p.m.
Saturday after several officers entered a house at 505 W. Edwards St.
looking for illegal drugs, Capt. Dale Wheeler with the sheriff's office said.

"Upon entry into the residence, there was a confrontation between Rawlings
and the narcotics agents in which Rawlings suffered one gunshot wound to
the chest area," Wheeler said.

Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating the
shooting, Wheeler said.

State and local officials weren't releasing much information Sunday about
the incident.

Wheeler declined to release the name of the officer, who has been placed on
administrative leave pending the outcome of the SBI investigation.

Wheeler also declined to say what precipitated the shooting, including
whether Rawlings was armed, whether any guns were found at the residence or
whether any drugs were found in the home. It also is not known whether
Rawlings will face any criminal charges, said Wheeler, who referred other
questions to the SBI.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell was out of town Sunday and could not
be reached for comment.

Reached at home Sunday, SBI Director Robin Pendergraft said her agency
wouldn't release the officer's name until today at the earliest.

Pendergraft said the details of what led to the shooting would not be
provided until after the District Attorney's Office reviews the SBI's
investigative report. District Attorney Tom Lock will have to decide
whether the officer was justified in his use of force or should be prosecuted.

"We give that [report] to the district attorney to assess if there has been
any excessive force. Only at that time would it be released," Pendergraft said.

Rawlings is being treated at Duke University Medical Center.

Staff writer Andrea Weigl can be reached at 829-4848 or aweigl@newsobserver.com