Nash deputy shot, killed in Kinston

Investigator Warren "Sneak" Lewis, 38, who was assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service, went to a house at 602 W. Lenoir Ave. around 7 p.m. to serve outstanding warrants for murder, authorities said. Someone opened fire as Lewis and another marshal approached the house, killing him.

Authorities detained five people, including three wanted in the June 2 death of Thomas Hinton, 31, who was shot in the chest at West Lenoir Avenue and Mitchell Street. WNCT News identified two of the suspects as Lamont Byrd, 18, and Kion Dail, 16.

U.S. Marshals have taken over the investigation. They were assisted by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Lewis had served with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office for more than nine years. He had been on the Eastern North Carolina Fugitive Task Force, a cooperative venture between the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement agencies, for the past three years.

He was married and had two children.

"Investigator Lewis was a gentle soul and would go out of his way to give you the shirt off his back, if he thought you needed it. He will definitely be missed, and he leaves a void at this office that will never be filled," Sheriff Dick Jenkins said in a statement.

Gov. Bev Perdue ordered state flags in Nash and Lenoir counties to be lowered to half-mast through sunset Sunday in honor of Lewis. She issued a statement encouraging private businesses and residents to do the same.