Martin Medina, 32, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for a firearms offense, assaulting federal officers and assault with intent to commit murder. 

U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced John Allen Wise, 45, of Cashiers, to 121 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine and illegal possession of firearms, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating an officer-involved shooting with the Haywood County Sheriff’s office over the weekend.

Across the state, there has been an increase in firearm-related hunting incidents involving serious injury and fatalities. 

The Town of Sylva has reinstated misdemeanor charges for discharging a firearm or a Molotov cocktail in town limits after state legislation decriminalized all town ordinances in 2021.