A man that police said had just robbed a Kenly motel is accused of firing a handgun at a police officer attempting to take him into custody.
The robbery happened early Wednesday morning at the Quality Inn at 405 S. Church Street.
Kenly Police Chief Josh Gibson said the motel was robbed by a suspect who fled on foot. A responding officer spotted the suspect prior to arriving on the scene and made contact with him. That’s when the suspect reportedly fired a gun at the officer. The officer fired one shot at the suspect as the suspect fled into a wooded area and disappeared from sight.
Kenly Police called for assistance and with the help of the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Selma Police, Princeton Police, Four Oaks Police, Pine Level Police, Smithfield Police and the NC Highway Patrol began conducting an intensive manhunt for the suspect. A short time later a sheriff’s K-9 located the suspect who was immediately detained.
Raymond H. Call, 21, of Pennsylvania, who was working for a paint company in the local area, was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Call was held in the Johnston County Jail under a $1 million bond.
Call and the officer he shot at were not injured.
Chief Gibson said the $95 that Call stole during the armed robbery was recovered, however the weapon he used has not been found. Call allegedly told police he threw the weapon down in the woods but several searches for the gun have not turned up the weapon.
