High-speed chase nets five robbery suspects

Roanoke Rapids, N.C. — Halifax County sheriff's deputies caught five men wanted for robberies in two states after a chase reaching speeds of 100 mph along Interstate 95 early Saturday.

Deputies went out after a store clerk called 911 and said that armed men had tried to rob a convenience store and Dunkin' Donuts at an Oasis gas station on N.C. Highway 903, off Interstate 95, shortly before midnight. The men held the workers at gunpoint but left with nothing, the clerk told deputies.

The suspects then went on to rob an Exxon gas station on N.C. Highway 561, about eight miles south along I-95, officials with the Halifax County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies caught up with the suspects and a high-speed chase ensued on I-95 South, reaching up to 100 mph. Deputies said the suspects were driving a stolen Honda Accord registered in Virginia.

The chase ended at exit 168 on I-95 in Halifax County when the suspects drove through the median and headed into northbound lanes, officials said. Their vehicle crashed into a guardrail, and the men jumped out and ran into a heavily wooded area.

A K-9 unit caught one suspect immediately, and the other four were tracked down overnight.

Deputies said they arrested Troy Beasley, Cory Berryman, Jayson Middleton, Joshua Middleton and Rodric Ruffin. The suspects were being held in the Halifax County Jail under separate $200,000 bonds Saturday night.

Each man was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts each of attempted armed robbery and felony fleeing to elude arrest, and one count each of armed robbery and felony possession of a stolen vehicle.

Deputies said the men are also suspects in a string of armed robberies in Virginia's Sussex County.

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