Joshua Whittlesey, a Cary resident, has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for carjacking and ordered to pay $28,000 in restitution. The 26-year-old pleaded guilty on November 13, 2024.
Court records indicate that on July 21, 2023, Whittlesey visited Hendrick’s Cadillac in Cary under the pretense of purchasing a Ford Raptor. During a test drive with a sales representative, he brandished what appeared to be a firearm and demanded the representative exit the vehicle. The sales representative promptly contacted authorities.
Whittlesey then led police from Cary, Durham, and Raleigh on a high-speed chase reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. During the pursuit, he struck and injured a Cary Police dog with the stolen vehicle before abandoning it and being apprehended in Burlington. Whittlesey later claimed that the weapon was a BB gun; however, law enforcement did not recover any firearm.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aiming to reduce violent crime and gun violence by collaborating with law enforcement agencies and communities. The program emphasizes trust-building within communities, supporting violence prevention organizations, strategic enforcement priorities, and result measurement.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the sentencing following U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan’s decision. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cary Police Department conducted investigations into this case while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaren E. Kelly and Jake D. Pugh prosecuted it.
