KENLY Deputies are hunting for two other male suspects after arresting two Raleigh teenagers Thursday morning following the shootings of two convenience store clerks in back-to-back armed robberies in Johnston County, authorities said.
The store clerks were shot Wednesday night in robberies that occurred 20 minutes apart, sheriff’s spokeswoman Tammy Amaon said. In one of the robberies, the store clerk returned fire despite his wounds, possibly pocking the side of one of two getaway cars with bullets.
Deputies arrested Keith Mason, 17, and Kwame Bellamy, 19, both of Raleigh. The two teens are being held in the Johnston County jail with bail set at $500,000. Bellamy was injured in the exchange of gunfire with one of the store clerks, Amaon said.
They are facing charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury in the second of two robberies, Amaon said. Both also face conspiracy charges, she said. The pair were arrested shortly after going to WakeMed’s Raleigh campus to get treatment for Bellamy’s wound, Amaon said.
But investigators believe two other suspects who know Mason and Bellamy participated in the twin armed robberies.
One suspect is described as a thin black male, around 6 feet tall, last seen wearing a black or blue bandana, long white shorts, a lime green shirt, white shoes and armed with a handgun. The other suspect is described as a stocky black male, about 5-feet-9-inches tall, last seen wearing a red baseball cap, a blue or black bandana, a black shirt, dark jeans and armed with a handgun.
Deputies are also on the lookout for two cars used in the armed robberies -- an early 90’s, gold Nissan Maxima 4-door and a late 90s, dark green Pontiac Grand Prix 2-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 Raleigh Campus with injuries that were not life-threatening, Amaon said. Authorities identified the clerks as Herith Alkiefy, 18, and Wesley Davis, 62.
Alkiefy was treated and released, a WakeMed spokeswoman said. Davis is listed in good condition.
The first shooting occurred about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Shop-N-Go at Highway 42 East and Highway 222, in the Stancil’s Chapel community near Kenly, Amaon said.
The 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.
“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 Highway 39, which is about eight miles away near Zebulon, the pair 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.
A customer called the sheriff’s office after the shooting. 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,” Funk said. She said Davis is a longtime employee of the store who is well-known in the community.
Charges have not yet been filed in the first robbery because investigators are uncertain who commited that crime, Amaon said.
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