A 23-year-old Asheville man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting a teenager who asked for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said Friday.
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James Lynch met the victim at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Asheville on May 29, 2024, according to court documents. Lynch was carrying a concealed .380 caliber pistol, prosecutors said.
Lynch told the 19-year-old victim that he and a driver would give him a ride.
Near milepost 399 on the parkway, about 10 miles south of Asheville, Lynch told the driver to head onto a dirt pullout, according to a news release by Ferguson’s office.
Lynch told the teen to leave the car. As the teen walked away, Lynch fired at least six shots, seriously injuring the teen, prosecutors said. Lynch and the driver then drove away, court records show.
Rangers responding to gunshot reports found the teen lying in the road, prosecutors said. The teen had multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, hand and pelvis and was treated at a hospital “for permanent and life-threatening bodily injuries,” according to the news release.
Agents with the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch investigated the shooting, which led to Lynch’s arrest, prosecutors said.
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Lynch will remain in federal custody until he is transferred to a prison when one is chosen, according to Ferguson’s office.
In a statement, Ferguson called the parkway “a treasured place where families should feel safe.”
He added: “The federal government has a special interest in the safety of our national lands, and this 20-year sentence makes clear that violence will not be tolerated.“
This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 11:01 AM with the headline “Man sentenced in shooting of teen who just wanted a ride on Blue Ridge Parkway.”
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