Police: Raleigh man steals from store, crashes car into dentist office while fleeing arrest
A Raleigh man crashed his car into a local dentist office while fleeing from police after burglarizing a store for few cartons of cigarettes early Thursday morning, according to Knightdale police.
Posted — UpdatedHajj Abdul Shabazz, 52, of Raleigh, allegedly stole from the Smoke Times store in the Smithfield Crossing complex. A Knightdale police officer saw Shabazz driving through the parking lot with no headlights on and attempted to stop him, officials said.
Officials said he accelerated onto Knightdale Boulevard. He lost control of his car and hit Dr. Sidney Libfraind's dental care office on North First Avenue, according to police.
Shabazz then ran from the crash. With help from the Raleigh Police Department's K9 unit, officials found him hiding on a roof on Maple Drive and took him into custody.
He faces charges of felony breaking and entering, felony larceny, careless and reckless driving, hit-and-run and other traffic offenses.
After the arrest, he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries. Once he is released, he will be held at the Wake County Detention Center.
“It is horrifying and infuriating that someone would endanger the lives and livelihoods of others over a few cartons of cigarettes,” Knightdale Police Chief Lawrence Capps said in a statement. “Selfish and aberrant are not strong enough terms to describe this behavior."
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