Kevin Jackmon is sitting in a holding cell at the Wake County Jail. He's facing federal kidnapping charges and possible murder charges. Raleigh FBI agents say exactly two months ago Friday. Jackmon attempted to rob a McDonalds in Massachusetts. That's when the national manhunt began.
Fifteen people were held as hostages following the botched robbery. The standoff soon turned into a shootout with Massachusetts SWAT teams. One suspect was killed. Authorities say the second stick-up man was Kevin Jackmon. They say he escaped to New York and kidnapped two of the hostages.
The nationwide search for Jackmon brought FBI agents to an apartment in the Carters Mill complex.
"I saw all these policemen, and they were all in the back in the woods," explained neighbor Marilyn Wilson, "with all those big guns and everything. It was very amazing."
"They had their guns drawn out, and there was a helicopter flying around getting lower and lower," said Chicana William.
Residents were startled by the officers surrounding the neighborhood, and even more were startled to find out they were just steps away from a wanted fugitive.
"It's scary because you never know what's going to happen, what's going to go down or nothing," Wilson explained.
Yvette Brimmer grew up with Kevin Jackmon and his family, but she, like most people in this neighborhood, had not seen him in the area since the Massachusetts robbery. She's shocked this national story has come so close to home.
"When I first heard it, because it was told to me, I didn't believe it," Brimmer said, "because I know Kevin is a nice warm-hearted person. That's how I know him."
Jackmon is now waiting for federal authorities to pick him up and take him back to Massachusetts. Police there intend to charge him with the murder of the other robbery suspect.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
