Pizza Inn employees robbed, beaten

Two employees of the Pizza Inn restaurant at 2918 N. Herritage St., Kinston, were robbed and beaten at gunpoint on Thursday night.

According to Maj. Greg Thompson of the Kinston Department of Public Safety, the victims were in possession of the restaurant’s night deposit bag when the incident occurred.

“At approximately 9:30 p.m., two male employees were getting into a vehicle with the night deposit when two black males approached their car,” Thompson said. “One of the suspects was armed with a handgun, while the other was holding a piece of lumber.”

Thompson said the victims were ordered to lie on the ground.

“While the victims were on the ground, they were both struck in the head with a blunt object,” Thompson said.

Both were treated at and released from Lenoir Memorial Hospital, one for a wound to the back of his head and the other for a gash over the eye requiring stitches. Neither was at work Friday afternoon.

A store employee said the assailants approached from a construction yard behind the restaurant.

The suspects were described as being approximately 6 feet tall and between the ages of 20-25 years old. According to an incident report obtained from the KDPS, the two suspects made off with $592 cash, a cell phone and a set of car keys.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to call Thompson at (252) 939-3188, Lenoir County Crime Stoppers at (252) 523-4444 or the Kinston Department of Public Safety Tips Line at (252) 939-4020.

Staff Writer Justin Schoenberger contributed to this report. Jon Dawson can be reached at (252) 559-1083 or at jdawson@freedomenc.com. Check out Jon’s blog at http://jdawson.encblogs.com.