Three arrested, one sought in home invasion

BEAUFORT - Carteret County authorities believe a home invasion that occurred Thursday in the North River community was drug-related rather than a random act of violence.

"(The suspects) stole drugs and a large amount of money," said Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck. "We think they went into the home for that reason; we don't think this was random."

Three suspects have been arrested and remained in the Carteret County Jail Friday, each under a $500,000 bond. A fourth suspect, who is also accused of firing shots at a deputy in pursuit of the suspects' vehicle, was still at large as of Friday evening.

Donte Johnson, 26, of Beaufort; Shondale Bryant, 24, of New Bern; and Jerard Cherry, 19, of Cove City are each charged with four counts of kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, burglary, conspiracy and felony possession of marijuana, according to a sheriff's office news release.

Authorities were still looking for Corey Antrion Cox, 26, of Cove City, who faces an additional charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official for firing shots at Carteret County Deputy Mark Lewis. Cox is believed to be in possession of a handgun and should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.

The sheriff's office responded to a "shots fired" call about 3 a.m. Thursday in the North River community outside of Beaufort and deputies saw a vehicle fleeing the scene as they arrived, Buck said.

The vehicle did not stop and a pursuit continued along Merrimon Road, Laurel Road and Hardesty Loop Road to N.C. 101. Three shots were fired at pursuing deputies.

"Luckily for us, no one was injured," Buck said.

The pursuit ended at the Beaufort Airport, where two of the suspects were apprehended.

The other two had jumped from the vehicle and fled on foot. One of them was caught an hour later and Cox remained on the loose.

While responding to the call, the sheriff's office learned of the home invasion.

Four occupants of the home were bound with duct tape around their wrists and across their mouths and forced into a bathroom, Buck said.

The suspects ransacked the home and took $17,000 in cash and a quarter pound of marijuana, the sheriff said.

A handgun and sawed-off shotgun were also seized from the suspects during the incident, the news release said.

Staff writer Jannette Pippin can be reached at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 910-382-2557.