Deputy, suspect trade gunfire
By From staff reports
Published in News on April 28, 2018 9:45 PM
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Turrentine
A Wayne County sheriff's deputy returned fire after being shot at early Saturday morning.
Neither the suspect nor the deputy were hit in the exchange.
According to a sheriff's office press release, Lemont Turrentine, 38, of Four Oaks, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Deputies responding to a report of a burglary in progress off of Minnie Drive just after midnight encountered four suspects fleeing on foot. The chase led deputies onto the property of the Bridge Church, where one of the suspects hid behind a building.
As one deputy was driving toward the area where the man, later identified as Turrentine, was hiding, he came under fire with several bullets striking his patrol car, according to the release.
The deputy returned fire and a foot chase ensued.
Turrentine was taken into custody a short time later after deputies found him hiding in some bushes. A firearm was located nearby, the release said.
The sheriff's office helicopter unit and SWAT team responded to the area in an attempt to locate the three remaining suspects.
After four hours the search was called off. The suspects are described only as "three subjects in dark colored hoodies." One of them might have been a light-skinned female wearing a bright pink shirt underneath a hoodie, according to the release.
Turrentine is being held in the Wayne County Detention Center under a $1 million secured bond.
Anyone with information regarding the additional three suspects is asked to call the sheriff's office at 919-731-1480, or call Crime stoppers at 919-735-2255.
Information leading to a felony arrest can be eligible for a cash reward.