JERRY CASE Faces four counts of kidnapping under federal law A North Carolina man paroled from a life sentence for murder now faces the possibility of life imprisonment from a federal court after having been charged Friday with four counts of kidnapping under federal law.

Prosecutors for the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Western District of North Carolina announced Friday that Jerry Douglas Case, 52, of Gastonia, will be transferred to federal custody once he is well enough to leave Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

He remained in fair condition in the hospital as of Sunday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed.

Case is accused of kidnapping 71-yearold William Payne, his 28-year-old daughter Natasha Payne, along with Natasha Payne's 7-year-old daughter and ninemonth old infant, from a fishing spot near Belmont, N.C., on July 17 and forcing them to drive him to various locations, including convenience stores where he bought beer and cigarettes.

He ultimately had them cross state lines on July 18, where they stopped at the Kangaroo convenience store in Gaffney near Exit 96 of Interstate 85. The family was able to escape and call police and Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputies began a manhunt, tracking Case to a swampy area near the interstate.

Case, who federal authorities said was armed with a .177-caliber pellet pistol, fired shots at the pursuing deputies, striking one in the leg. Deputies returned fire and struck Case.

Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton had previously said his officers fired three times and that it appeared Case had been struck twice. Case was flown to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for treatment following the incident.

Before the involvement of federal investigators, Blanton had said Cherokee County was prepared to file kidnapping charges against Case. Blanton said Cherokee County would still pursue charges against Case for assaulting the Cherokee County deputies, even if federal authorities intervened.

Case was to be charged with assault with intent to kill a police officer and assault and battery with intent to kill a police officer in Cherokee County, Blanton had said. It wasn't clear if those charges had been served on Case as of Sunday.

Federal authorities said Case will be brought before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Charlotte once he is released from the hospital and that he will be returned to South Carolina to face local charges once the federal charges are resolved.

The U.S. Attorneys Office charged Case with one count of kidnapping for each of the four victims.

The first two counts of kidnapping related to the adults carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment while the second two counts of kidnapping related to the children carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum of life.

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Ernest Mathis wrote in an affidavit that Case first approached William Payne and his 7-yearold granddaughter on July 17 at about 1 p.m. while they were walking down to a fishing dock on Hot Hole Lane near Belmont, N.C.

Case approached from behind and held a gun, later identified as a pellet pistol, to the grandfather's head and took his knife, a lighter, a cell phone and money. He allegedly held the two for about an hour until the man's daughter, Natasha Payne, called to determine if they were ready to be picked up.

About an hour later, the 28- year-old woman and her infant arrived in her Nissan Versa. She was told they were going to give Case a ride. However, the agent wrote, when they were all seated in the vehicle "Case declared that he was kidnapping them."

Case subsequently went through the woman's purse and stole money from her. The agent wrote Case then began telling the woman where to drive. The stopped at several convenience stores and gas stations where Case purchased, among other things, gas, beer and cigarettes.

Case allegedly told the family during the incident that he had spent more than 20 years in prison and threatened to kill them if they didn't follow his commands.

During all but the last stop, the agent wrote, Case removed the keys from the ignition so the family couldn't flee.

However, when they stopped at the Gaffney convenience store, Case didn't take the keys when he got out of the vehicle and went inside to tell a clerk to turn on the gas pump. When the woman realized he had left the keys behind, the agent wrote, she started the car, fled and called 9-1-1.

Following the subsequent shootout with Cherokee County Sheriff's deputies, police recovered a Daisy Powerline .177-caliber pellet gun. All three weapons involved in the incident were taken into evidence for a SLED review of the shooting. A photograph of the same type of pellet pistol, posted on the Daisy web site, showed it looked very similar to a conventional firearm.

Case already had a long criminal history at the time of his capture, and previous spent time on North Carolina's death row for the kidnapping and murder of a taxi driver. His death sentence was overturned on appeal, however, and he later pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was paroled from the life sentence in 2008, according to North Carolina prison records.