Former Leland officer sentenced for high-speed chase, child porn

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A former Leland Police officer was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a high-speed chase in which he fired at deputies and troopers, later crashing his truck in South Carolina.

A news release from the Brunswick County District Attorney’s Office says Howard Henry “Hank” Smith, Jr., 41, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted murder, one count of discharging a firearm into a moving vehicle and one count of possessing material obtained by secret peeping.

Smith was sentenced to between 22 and 28 years in prison and is required to register as a sex offender when released. The charges come after a high-speed chase that started in Holden Beach and ended in North Myrtle Beach when a trooper forced Smith off the road back in September 2014.

The chase started when Brunswick County deputies were attempting to serve Smith with domestic violence warrants. Smith fired at officers three different times during the chase.

Smith previously plead guilty in South Carolina to attempted murder for firing at officers toward the end of the chase, and was given a 20 year sentence there. Between both state’s sentences, Smith will spend at least 42 years in prison.