KANNAPOLIS — Two men were cited with possession of pyrotechnics Tuesday after a sheriff’s deputy mistook the sound of fireworks for gunfire.
According to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy was on another call in Kannapolis when he heard a popping noise that sounded like a gun.
He turned around, saw two men running away toward a Toyota Camry and thought they could be suspects in his call.
The men were later identified as Jonathan Bradley Moore, 23, of East 22nd Street in Kannapolis, and Jonathan Edward Cooke, 22, of Mineral Springs Road in Charlotte.
When the men got in the car and began driving, the deputy pursued them in a patrol car. He pulled the vehicle over on Troutman Road as it was attempting to pull onto East 22nd Street.
When the deputy realized the men had been lighting fireworks, he asked how many they had in their possession. According to the report, the young men pulled out 30 bottle rockets and a roll of firecrackers.
Both Moore and Cooke were given citations for possession of illegal pyrotechnics in the state of North Carolina. They were released at the scene.