NYPD officers are looking for a teenage North Carolina murder suspect said to be on his way to New York City after he allegedly said he would "rather die than go to prison," authorities say, sparking fear he would engage in a shootout with officers if he were approached by them.
Cortaz Quemel Lucas Jr., 17, is wanted for murder in Clayton, a small town outside of Raleigh, according to police. On Dec. 28, he shot his mother's boyfriend to death in his mobile home in a domestic dispute, then said he would "rather die than go to prison."
The victim, 28-year-old Robert Lee Horton, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest in the home, authorities said.
Police swept several homes to try and track the teen down but came up empty. His friends told police he may be on his way to Staten Island or Philadelphia, police said. It's not clear why he's focusing on those locations.
Lucas has gang ties and is armed and dangerous, police said. He has a juvenile record and was wanted at the time of the shooting for a probation violation on assault and trespassing charges.
The manhunt comes weeks after the slaying of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who were ambushed by a gunman on the run from Baltimore. They were shot to death in their patrol car on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The NYPD is on high alert, with the FBI joining the manhunt, and there's a $1,000 reward for information leading to Lucas' arrest. Police sources said it's one of dozens of threats against police the NYPD has investigated since the murders of Liu and Ramos.
