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Navarette Charged for July 3 Shooting on Boone’s King Street

By Tim Gardner

Joseph James Navarette, age 24, of 240 Locklear St., Mount Airy, NC, was arrested and charged with two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle and one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury in connection with a shooting on downtown Boone’s King Street Saturday, July 3.

Navarette is being held in Watauga County Jail under a $1 million secured bond and awaits an August 13 court date in the county.

At 10:04 a.m., 911 calls indicated that a male driving a white Toyota pickup was traveling west and “randomly firing from the vehicle,” according to a statement from the Boone Police Department.  Boone Patrol Officers immediately responded to the 300 block of West King Street, near the area of First Baptist Church for reported gunfire.

According to the Boone Police Department, two vehicles were struck by gunfire during the incident. A passenger in one of the two vehicles was grazed by one of the rounds and transported to Watauga Medical Center, via Watauga Medics with non-life threatening injuries. 

That victim was released later Saturday afternoon and will be interviewed by police investigators regarding the matter.

The injured person’s name has not been released by Boone Police.

The areas of West King Street were closed by law enforcement to all traffic–vehicular and pedestrian– for a few hours after the shooting.

The Boone Police Department officials said the shooting investigation is on-going and if any updates are needed, they will be released later.