Four arrested after Raleigh robbery, police chase, crash
Raleigh police arrested four people overnight after a robbery, a chase and a crash.
Around 11 p.m. Thursday, a woman and three men robbed Moe’s Southwest Grill in Cameron Village and held up the manager with a gun as he was leaving, police said.
Authorities identified the suspects as Dwight Sherrod Taylor, 22, of 1208 Garden Grove Lane, Michael Javon Spencer, 19, of 5316 Pronghorn Lane, Tahji Antoine Eley, 18, from "anywhere Raleigh," and Shaniqua Shonta Burrell, 20, of 917 Beverly Drive.
The four people fled the scene in a stolen Jeep Cherokee and crashed into a tree off Raleigh Boulevard after three police cruisers chased them for about 7 miles, authorities said.
The four suspects then jumped out of the vehicle and ran, investigators said. More than a dozen officers responded to the scene and caught them.
Eley was injured as he ran from police, but was expected to be OK. Emergency crews checked him out at the scene and took him to WakeMed. Authorities declined to say how he was injured.
Authorities credit alert witnesses for giving them a good description of the Jeep and where it was headed.
Police charged the suspects as follows:
Taylor – Possession of stolen motor vehicle, robbery with dangerous weapon (Smith & Wesson .32 caliber revolver), conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. Bond was set at $400,000. Taylor had a previous robbery conviction from 2004, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13-16 months.
Spencer – Flee/elude arrest with motor vehicle, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of stolen motor vehicle. Police say he drove "recklessly" and "in excess of 15 miles per hour," and that the crash caused "in excess of $1,000 of property damage." Bond was set at $115,000.
Eley – Possession of stolen motor vehicle, robbery with dangerous weapon, conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. Bond was set at $300,000. Eley had a prior cocaine conviction from 2007. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four to five months.
Burrell – Possession of stolen motor vehicle, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon. Bond was set at $250,000.
