Alleged screwdriver-wielding robber arrested
By Gary Popp
Published in News on November 14, 2010 1:50 AM
Following a stop-and-go foot chase, a screwdriver wielding man was arrested Saturday morning for allegedly committing two robberies and one kidnapping.
John Curtis Nick, 48, Hines Drive, is charged with second-degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon by the Goldsboro Police Department for an incident that occurred at Walmart on Spence Avenue around 7 a.m.
Nick also is charged with armed robbery with a weapon by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office for an incident that occurred around 7:15 a.m. at Way 2 Save at 774 E. New Hope Road.
No one was injured in either of the incidents, and Nick is being held under a $300,000 bond.
According to police reports, Nick allegedly forced a woman into her own car in the Walmart parking lot. Nick is believed to have brandished an 18" to 24" screwdriver while inside the vehicle where Nick took the woman's purse.
Nick is believed to have then driven to Way 2 Save where he wielded the same screwdriver to steal around $240, said Wayne County Sheriff's Office deputy Travis Sparks.
After fleeing from Way 2 Save, Nick was located by Sparks near Central Heights Road.
Sparks initiated a foot pursuit of Nick that went through the surrounding wooded areas.
Sparks said the foot chase lasted between one half mile and one mile.
"We both took breaks to stop and catch our breaths," Sparks said. "We stopped two or three times."
Sparks says that during the pauses he and Nick would have verbal exchanges.
"I would tell him he needs to stop -- that other deputies would soon be coming, and he would say that he had to keep running."
Eventually, Sparks was able to taze Nick.
Sparks said that he tazed Nick from about 15 feet away and one of the two prongs released from the gun missed Nick, resulting in a minor shock.
Sparks was later joined by fellow law enforcement officials and Nick was taken into custody.
"The important thing is that the suspect was arrested and no one was hurt," Sparks said.