Man Sought in 'Brutal' Attack on Store Clerk

Fayetteville, N.C. — Police were searching for a man who attacked a convenience store clerk early Friday.

A 50-year-old woman was working along at the Hess-Wilco station at 3706 Raeford Road between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Friday when a man tried to buy a case of beer, police said. When she told him state law prohibited the sale of beer after 2 a.m., he began punching her.

"He began assaulting her and began beating her in the face (and) actually beat her unconscious," said Jamie Smith, spokeswoman for the Fayetteville Police Department. "He brutally beat her."

A surveillance camera in the store showed the assailant then went to the cash register to steal some money, and he also swiped some cigarettes before leaving, Smith said.

The woman, whose name wasn't released, was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. She sustained serious injuries to her face, including fractured bones, but they were not life-threatening, police said.

The manager of the convenience store declined to comment.

The assailant was described as a black man in his 30s with dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail. He is about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective T. Joyce of the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1883 or 919-433-1856 or Crime Stoppers at 910-483-8477.

"No matter how minor you think it is, just give them a call and let them make that decision," Smith said.

26 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 26 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

In my youth, the saying applied to graffitti and wanted posters. I don't think anyone who heard it then could imagine it would apply to video imagery in the future:

"Fools' names and Fools' faces often appear in public places"

Hope they catch this moron soon. I hear there are some pretty good 'scrappers' at Central Prison...

Smorgas_Of_Borg
November 10, 2007 9:04 p.m.

Let's get back to the days when a store owner could have a store open anytime he wanted to serve the customer and have as many people working that he wanted and have it open anywhere he found a market it a building that doesn't look like a fortress. It's called freedom. Thugs like this take advantage of it and need to be dealt with.

Let's get back to the days that these thugs have no right to assume they won't be shot in the chest. Does this stuff go on at Rocky Mount vegetable stands?

lizard
November 10, 2007 8:20 p.m.

NO STORE SHOULD HAVE ONLY ONE EMPLOYEE AT ANY TIME! the ones that get robbed and someone gets killed or hurt is always ones that have just one employee working. my heart goes out to this poor woman who was only trying to make a living. shame on the store owner!

lynddsy
November 10, 2007 8:08 p.m.

We should get back to the days of stores closing at reasonable hours and being closed on Sundays as well. WHY do we need 24/7? In the days when that was not available, people planned in advance OR simply waited until the next day. Perhaps on a long stretch of highway, near a rest stop, a gas station might remain open, but otherwise, no!

Rocknhorse
November 10, 2007 7:04 p.m.

1. At least this 50 yo woman was willing to work an honest job! Perhaps it's the only job she could get that fits her life needs.

2. I hope they catch this guy! Unfortunately, if he is caught, he'll MAYBE serve a nominal time in jail where he can commiserate with his peers and then he'll leave, probably harder/harsher than he entered. Seems there isn't much in the way of justice these days.

3. I wish for this lady a speedy recovery! What an awful, frightening thing she experienced.

Rocknhorse
November 10, 2007 7:02 p.m.