'Newport' Bandit Charged in 3 More Robberies
Authorities gave a birthday present to a man they suspect of being the 'Newport' bandit, who's committed a string of robberies using a sawed-off shotgun: three charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon.
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The Wayne County Sheriff's Office accused Anthony Jerome Lee, of 1762A Maple Street, Goldsboro – who turned 40 Friday – of committing three robberies at two convenience stores.
Lee allegedly robbed the Kangaroo convenience store on Highway 70 West on April 6 and April 16 and the Friendly Mart on Highway 13 South on April 9.
Goldsboro police arrested Lee Thursday and charged him for robbing a truck driver in a Sam's Club parking lot at 3 a.m. and a convenience store on North Berkeley Boulevard around 6 a.m. that same day.
A joint investigation by sheriff's deputies and police has identified Lee as a suspect in a string of 12 armed robberies that began in mid March and took place throughout Goldsboro and Wayne.
Lee faces a total of 12 counts each of robbery with a dangerous weapon, nine counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, seven counts of possession of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of second-degree kidnapping.
He allegedly robbed convenience stores at 1601 E. Ash St., 901 W. Grantham St., 2606 N. William St. and 600 N. Spence Ave., as well as a laundromat at 306 N. Madison Ave. and a man on Royal Avenue.
Tying the crimes together was a distinctive sawed-off shotgun, with duct tape on its handle, that the robber used each time, police said. The robber also asked for a pack of Newport cigarettes and cash during each robbery.
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