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.