SMITHFIELD – Law enforcement officers were led on a low-speed chase by a felon fleeing on a moped. The moped operator attempted to evade arrest but was eventually captured.
It began around 3:00am Sunday at East Market Street and Outlet Center Drive in Smithfield. A Johnston County deputy was pulling up to the intersection when he saw a moped operator run a red light at the intersection as he turned left onto Outlet Center Drive.
The deputy turned on his blue light but the driver failed to pull over. The officer then activated his siren as the suspected entered the roundabout but he still failed to stop. The deputy pulled up alongside the moped several times on Outlet Center Drive motioning for the driver to stop, but he didn’t.
The suspect turned left on Highway 70 in Selma and began traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes before he turned into the parking lot of the Masters Inn and crashed next to the woods. The suspect fled on foot.
With the assistance of Smithfield and Selma Police, 24 year-old Christopher Lee Pulley of Braswell Road, Smithfield was captured a short time later. A rifle was reportedly found next to his wrecked moped.
Pulley was charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was incarcerated under a $100,000 bond. His moped was also seized.
