Wednesday, Sep. 01, 2010

3 jailed, 1 sought in Johnston robberies

Deputies have arrested three persons and were looking for a fourth after the shootings of two convenience store clerks in back-to-back armed robberies in Johnston County.

The store clerks were shot Aug. 25 in robberies that occurred 20 minutes apart, sheriff's spokeswoman Tammy Amaon said. During one of the robberies, the store clerk returned fire despite his wounds, wounding one of the robbers and possibly pocking the side of one of two getaway cars with bullets.

Deputies have arrested Keith Mason, 17, and Kwame Bellamy, 19, both of Raleigh. The two teens were being held in the Johnston County jail under $500,000 bonds. A juvenile is also in custody in Wake County.

Bellamy was slightly wounded in the exchange of gunfire with a store clerk, Amaon said. He and Mason were arrested shortly after going to WakeMed's Raleigh campus to get treatment for Bellamy's wound, Amaon said. The juvenile was arrested later.

All face charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, Amaon said. They also face conspiracy charges, she said.

But investigators believe one other person took part in the robberies. He is described is described as a stocky black male, about 5 feet, 9-inches tall, last seen wearing a red baseball cap, a blue or black bandanna, a black shirt and dark jeans. He too was armed with a handgun.

Deputies were looking for two cars used in the robberies - an early 1990s gold Nissan Maxima four-door and a late '90s dark-green Pontiac Grand Prix two-door with a sunroof, tan interior and bullet holes in the passenger side.

Both Shop-N-Go clerks, ages 18 and 62, were taken to WakeMed's Raleigh campus with injuries that were not life-threatening, Amaon said. Authorities identified the clerks as Herith Alkiefy, 18, and Wesley Davis, 62.

The first shooting occurred about 8:45 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Shop-N-Go at N.C. 42 East and N.C. 222 in the Stancil's Chapel community near Kenly, Amaon said. Two men came in wearing bandannas and carrying a gun, Amaon said. They demanded money and shot the clerk, she said.

Alkiefy's cousin, Walid Haimed, who is also a clerk at the store, was in another part of the business when the shooting took place. "The one thing I heard was 'Give it up. Give it up,'" Haimed said.

When the bandanna covering one robber's face fell away, he shot Alkiefy twice, Haimed said. Alkiefy, who supports his unemployed mother and father and five brothers, worried about losing a paycheck because of his injuries, his cousin said. "It was bad for a man who worked really hard for his family," Haimed said.

About 20 minutes later at the Shop-N-Go at 13597 N.C. 39, about eight miles away near Zebulon, two males came in with a gun and held up the clerk there, Amaon said. The clerk also was shot, she said, but exchanged gunfire with the robbers, wounding Bellamy.

Davis called fellow store clerk Christy Funk, who lives next to the business. "He was holding the back of his head, where the bullet apparently grazed him, and there was a lot of blood everywhere," she said.