Mack Douglas Cox
Robbinsville – A Raeford man will spend at least the next three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a 2019 incident in Graham County.
Mack Douglas Cox, 36, was sentenced June 5 in Graham County Superior Court to serve 26-41 months behind bars for assaulting a government official with a deadly weapon. He was also ordered by District Court Judge Tessa Sellers to serve concurrent sentences of 16-29 months for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle.
Cox received 75 days credit for time served. He was also ordered to pay $400 in attorney and court fees.
On April 21, 2019, the Cherokee Indian Police Department was conducting a license checkpoint at the intersection of Massey Branch and Snowbird roads in Graham County. Cox pulled up to the stop in a 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo – which was later discovered to be stolen from Scotland County resident Dwayne Herbert – and could not produce a driver’s license when asked by officers.
According to reports, Cox was initially friendly but grew nervous and eventually took off in the vehicle, striking Sgt. Jeremy Spencer with a side mirror in the process. Spencer fell into a nearby ditch as a result of the collision but was not injured.
A chase ensued, in which Cox reached speeds of 90 mph in zones posted as 45. Cox managed to evade authorities in Graham County, but later wrecked in Monroe County, Tenn., and was found the following day at a gas station.
Cox has a laundry list of convictions in North Carolina, dating back to 2016. Most recently, he was found guilty of:
* Flee/elude arrest and larceny (both felonies) in Hoke County on June 28, 2023;
* Two counts of breaking/entering a motor vehicle in Cumberland County on Nov. 3, 2022;
* Larceny of a motor vehicle and larceny of a firearm in Richmond County on Oct. 6, 2022;
* Two counts of assault on a government official, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a stolen firearm by a felon in Moore County on July 25, 2022;
* Obtaining property under false pretense, breaking/entering into a place of worship and felony larceny in Robeson County on Jan. 24, 2019;
* Felony breaking/entering, attempted felony larceny and obtaining property false pretense in Scotland County on Nov. 15, 2018;
* Two counts of setting fire to woods with intent to damage property, plus two counts of felony breaking and entering in Robeson County on Feb. 2, 2016.
Cox's listed town of residence – Raeford – is 329 miles southeast of Robbinsville, near Fayetteville. He was represented in Graham County by Murphy-based attorney Crissy Mason.
Assistant district attorney Jim Moore served as state prosecutor.