A Nash County deputy working the Eastern North Carolina Fugitive Task Force was shot and killed shortly before 7 p.m. tonight.

Kinston Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Woody Spencer told The Free Press that local and federal law enforcement officers went to a house at 602 West Lenoir Ave. to look for suspects in the June 2 slaying of Thomas Hinton.

Shots were fired and the deputy was fatally wounded. Five suspects were taken into custody.

Nash County Sheriff Dick Jenkins confirmed that the officer killed was his deputy, Investigator Warren “Sneak” Lewis.

"Investigator Lewis has been a member of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office for over 9 years. He has served on the Eastern NC Fugitive Task Force for the last three years," Jenkins said in a news statement released tonight.

"Investigator Lewis was a gentle soul and would go out of his way to give you the shirt off his back, if he thought you needed it," Jenkins said. "He will definitely be missed, and he leaves a void at this Office that will never be filled.”