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KENLY – An alert citizen spotted two men allegedly smashing the glass front door of Kenly’s Piggly Wiggly grocery store around 11:50pm Thursday. The suspects reportedly entered the store but quickly retreated when an alarm sounded.
The burglars fled the scene in a GMC SUV. The eyewitness called 911 and followed the suspects on Highway 222 where a deputy met then at Highway 42 and attempted a traffic stop.
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When the deputy turned on his blue lights, two suspects bailed out and ran into the darkness. The third was quickly taken into custody at the SUV.
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Deputies rushed to the scene of the traffic stop and set up a perimeter, with assistance from the State Highway Patrol.
A Smithfield Police K-9 unit initiated a search and located a second suspect lying in a ditch. He was taken into custody without incident.
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A thorough search of the area failed to turn up the third suspect, however, deputies hoped to identify him by surveillance video at the store.
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Authorities said a sledge hammer was used by the suspects to break the door, sending broken glass over a wide area inside the grocery store.
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Johnston County EMS was called to treat one of the suspects who had been injured by broken glass as he entered the store.
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Charges against the suspects were pending. Their names and charges were not immediately available.