A North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper, 24 year old David Blanton Jr., was shot twice and killed late Tuesday during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Haywood County. Law Enforcement officers have charged Edwardo Wong II age 37 with First Degree Murder in the death of Trooper Blanton. According to police reports, Blanton stopped a vehicle towing a passenger car operated by Wong when he was fatally shot. Blanton later died at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Law enforcement officials stopped Wong soon after the shooting incident and located narcotics and weapons in Wong's vehicle, one of which was Trooper Blanton's weapon. Wong, who already has a lengthy criminal record, is being held in the Haywood County Jail without bail. Blanton, who was from Cherokee, was a two-year veteran of the patrol. He was married and had one child.

This image, provided by the North Carolina Highway Patrol,
shows a photo of 24 year old Trooper David Blanton Jr.,
who was shot and killed in the line of duty on
Tuesday, June 17, 2008.
 

This image, provided by the North Carolina Highway Patrol,
shows Edwardo Wong II, age 37, who is charged with First
 Degree Murder in the death of Trooper David Blanton Jr.