Second suspect connected to deadly Wilmington chase appears in court

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The second suspect in an alleged armed robbery that ended in a fatal wreck Sunday now is in the New Hanover County Detention Center.

Authorities say that Amy Lynn Miles, 38, was a passenger in a car driven by Thomas Willoughby Jr., who is accused of leading law enforcement on a chase that resulted in a collision that killed an innocent bystander on Wrightsville Avenue.

Miles, who was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center after the wreck, was booked at the detention center Tuesday evening.

She has been charged with:

• robbery with a dangerous weapon
• three counts of larceny
• possession of drug paraphernalia
• aiding and abetting an impaired driving
• conspiracy
• conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon

Miles appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. She faces up to 17 years behind bars for the felony robbery with a dangerous weapon charge.

A judge set Miles’ bond at $100,000, secured. The state initially asked for her bond to be set at $1 million.

Investigators say Miles admits to helping Willoughby as he stole a TV from Walmart and initially driving the getaway car. The plan was to trade the TV for crack-cocaine. As they ran from the scene, she pulled the car over and Willoughby got in the driver’s seat near Eastwood Drive and Military Cutoff Road.

Officials say Willoughby was driving away from police Sunday morning when he ran a red light and crashed into Sean Alan Evans, 51, of Raleigh, on Wrightsville Avenue. Willoughby, who is being held without bond, faces more than a dozen charges, including first-degree murder.

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