Harnett drug deal leads to robbery, shooting

Witnesses told investigators that two men stole $60 at knifepoint from a man outside a convenience store on U.S. Highway 421 in Lillington after arranging a drug deal with the man. The robbers then fled the area in a vehicle.

The victim chased after the robbers and forced their vehicle off the road near the intersection of U.S. 421 and Seminole Road in Broadway, authorities said. The victim fired at least four shots at the robbers, wounding both of them.

The robbers called 911 to report they had been shot, and deputies tracked down the gunman a few minutes later at the intersection of McArthur and Mount Pisgah Church roads, authorities said. A gun was found on the side of McArthur Road about a half-mile away, they said.

The robbers were treated at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford and released.

Ryan Richard Rochelle, 22, of 5092 McDougald Road in Lillington, and Cody Joseph Rochelle, 20, of 1608 Dixie Farm Road in Sanford, were each charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. They were being held Thursday in the Harnett County Detention Center under $75,000 bonds.

Kevin Felton Brown, 23, of 3117 Norrington Road in Lillington, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. He was being held under a $100,000 bond.