Robbery suspect caught in Wilson
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 11, 2013 1:46 PM
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Samuel Keith Best Jr.
An alleged armed robber plaguing the Elm Street area in Goldsboro is off the streets this morning following an arrest in Wilson.
A "very valuable tip" to Crime Stoppers led to the arrest of Samuel Keith Best Jr., the man the Goldsboro Police Department has been hunting for more than two weeks, GPD officials said today.
Best, who was wanted in connection with armed robbery and several other charges, is in the Wayne County Jail this morning under a $922,000 secured bond awaiting first appearance.
Best, 33, surrendered to the Wilson Police Department's Special Response Team and crisis negotiators Thursday just after 5:30 p.m. at the Village Motor Lodge in Wilson.
"With one phone call, we received all the assistance we needed from Wilson (Police Department)," said Maj. Alton King of the Goldsboro PD Investigations Division.
The hunt for Best began the morning of Sept. 28 when he allegedly broke into a residence on Denmark Street and robbed the homeowner at gunpoint.
He then allegedly held up the D&C Mini Mart at 1007 E. Elm St., not once but twice in a 10-day period.
"We've been actively working for quite some time, sharing information between patrol shifts, the support services and investigations division," Goldsboro police Chief Jeff Stewart said.
All those efforts led to a number of tips called in to Crime Stoppers, the latest of which led investigators to Wilson.
"He was alone; he was unarmed," King said.
Best was holed up in Room 18 of the Village Motor Lodge at 2089 U.S. Highway 301. Telephone contact was made after three hours and he surrendered without incident, according to a GPD press release.
A joint command center was established outside the hotel.
No weapons or money were recovered from the hotel room, but the investigators are relieved to have Best in custody, King said.
"We handle every situation the same, but this was a repeat offense in a very short period and a violent offender," he said.
Stewart said that it was the cooperation between agencies and the assistance from the community calling the Crime Stoppers hotline that led to the arrest.
"He won't be robbing anybody for a while," he said.