Kinston Police: Stolen vehicle strikes house, injures three

Kinston Police reported that for several weeks the citizens of Kinston and Lenoir County have been victimized by overnight car thefts and car break-ins. This morning around 4:15 officers responded to a call from a homeowner on the 2500 block of Hodges Road in reference to someone attempting to break into his vehicle.

Officers arrived and were surveilling the area when they observed a vehicle being operated erratically. When the officer, who was parked with lights off, turned on their headlights, the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed. The officer activated blue lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

Within two blocks the vehicle, which since has been found to have been stolen from that neighborhood, lost control, left the roadway and struck a house. Neither of the two people in the house were injured. All three occupants of the stolen vehicle were injured and have been transported to Vidant Medical Center for treatment.

Officers have recovered firearms that were stolen overnight from break ins in Lenoir County. Narcotics, firearms, stolen merchandise and evidence of breaking and enterings have been recovered. Kinston Police Department and the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Department are working together regarding these criminal acts in our community.

We ask that residents please check your property, vehicles and out buildings to make sure they are secure and you have not been victimized. Please review any security cameras which may assist law enforcement in these cases. Investigators are actively investigating these cases and several others which may be related.

The Kinston Police Department places the highest priority on investigating incidents in our city. We will investigate such cases with no compromise for crime, and continue to seek assistance from the community we proudly serve. If anyone has any further information about this incident, please call the Kinston Police Department’s Tips Line at 252-939-4020 or Lenoir County Crime Stoppers at 252-523-4444. Calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential and anonymous, and the caller may be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest.