Police: Armed Man Forced Stranger Into Vehicle Before 911 Call Led To Arrest

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — A quick-thinking kidnapping victim secretly called 911 from his cell phone after police said he was forced into his own vehicle at gunpoint at a Smithfield convenience store early Friday morning.

Nobbie Lee Dubose III, 35, of Amelia Church Road in Clayton, was arrested and charged following the incident at the Speedway convenience store located at 2103 S. Brightleaf Boulevard.

According to the Smithfield Police Department, officers were dispatched to the store around 4:40 a.m. Friday.

Investigators said Dubose entered the convenience store and locked the door, preventing the clerk from leaving. About five minutes later, a customer arrived and entered the store.

Police said Dubose confronted the customer, a 45-year-old Smithfield man, and ordered him at gunpoint to get into the passenger seat of his vehicle. Dubose allegedly got behind the wheel and drove away with the victim inside.

The employee activated the store’s panic alarm alerting police to the incident.

As the vehicle traveled through Smithfield, the victim secretly dialed 911 on his cell phone. Dispatchers were able to listen to the conversation between the victim and Dubose while the victim discreetly identified streets and locations they were passing.

Police said Dubose drove through Smithfield and toward Clayton on West Market Street before making a U-turn and returning toward Smithfield.

Using information provided through the 911 call, officers located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. Dubose was taken into custody without further incident.

Neither the store clerk nor the kidnapping victim was physically injured during the encounter.

Dubose was charged with first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Police said the incident appears to have been random.

Dubose is being held without bond at the Johnston County Detention Center.