He will serve at least 51 months before he is eligible for release. The convictions stem from an August 2017 incident on Bryson City Road in which Franklin Fire Department, Franklin Police Department, Macon County EMS, Clark’s Chapel and Cowee fire departments responded as well as the State Bureau of Investigations. 

Catlin Davis, 30, of Franklin, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to a maximum term of 31 months in the Division of Adult Corrections. He will serve at least 18 months before he is eligible for release. This conviction arises from an October 2016 vehicle collision at the intersection of U.S. 23 and Addington Bridge Road and was investigated by the N.C. State Highway Patrol. 

Gerald Shope, 58, of Franklin, pled guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and was sentenced to a maximum term of 93 months. He will serve at least 70 months before he is eligible for release. The conviction is the result of a traffic stop initiated by the Franklin Police Department with the assistance of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office. 

Charles Spain, 43, of Franklin, pled guilty to two counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, breaking or entering, larceny and fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to a maximum term of 51 months and will serve at least 17 months before he’s eligible for release. These convictions arise from two separate incidents in Macon County — a July 2018 call to service on Sloan Street and an October 2018 high-speed chase involving Dillard Police Department in Georgia and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office. 

“A productive week of Superior Administrative Court produced over 20 guilty pleas highlighted by the disposition of several high profile cases,” said District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch. “This is a testament to not only the hard work of our law enforcement officers but the court system as a whole; the Macon County Clerk’s Office, our court reporters and bailiffs make this process work efficiently every season.”