KINSTON — Two men were arrested following the report of a Sunday morning robbery, a foot chase through a neighborhood and a shot fired by one of the suspects during the chase.

Keith Sherrod Bizzell Jr., 20, and Dontrell Tysean Smith, 29, both of La Grange, were arrested on a plethora of charges following the Sunday morning incident.

Around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call of a person being robbed near Hill Street in La Grange. As deputies arrived in the area, they observed a vehicle matching that of one described as being involved in the crime. When the occupants of the vehicle saw the deputies, they abruptly pulled behind a residence and two men in the vehicle fled on foot.

During the foot chase, one of the individuals fleeing, Smith, allegedly fired a shot from a handgun; he later said he was firing the gun at a large dog that approached him as he was running through yards of the neighborhood. An extensive search of the area by LCSO investigators was unable to locate any signs a dog had been shot.

The investigation into the matter recovered two handguns, drug paraphernalia and marijuana. One of the handguns was reported stolen in Lee County.

Bizzell was charged with:

·      possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

·      possession of a stolen firearm

He is also currently on pretrial release with bond for multiple felonies pending adjudication in each of Lenoir, Greene and Wayne counties. In this matter, his bond was set at $250,000 with an additional $2,500 for an outstanding order for arrest from Craven County.

Smith was charged with:

·      possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

·      discharging a firearm in city limits

·      possession of drug paraphernalia

·      possession of marijuana

Smith's bond was set at $151,500.

The investigation into the original robbery call is ongoing, as well as how these convicted felons came to possess the handguns that were recovered.

The LCSO has also been in contact with the district attorney’s office about the egregious number of pending cases all over Eastern North Carolina against Bizzell.

Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers expressed his gratitude to his deputies and to officers from the Kinston Police Department and troopers from the State Highway Patrol who responded to the incident in La Grange Sunday morning.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call the LCSO at 252-559-6140 or Lenoir County Crime Stoppers at 252-523-4444.