Man, woman arrested in string of robberies

A man and woman have been arrested and charged with a string of armed robberies that began Oct. 26, including three in Havelock.

The arrests of Johnny Dwayne Dickerson, 28, of Georgia Avenue, New Bern, and Nicole Kriston Thomas, 24, of the 5000 block of N.C. 55 West, Cove City, came after a joint investigation by the Craven County Sheriff's Office, New Bern police and Havelock police.

The two face charges in the robberies of the Jim Dandy convenience store on Fontana Boulevard on Oct. 29, the Dollar General Store on East Main Street on Nov. 3 and the Hampton Inn on Tourist Center Drive on Nov. 6.

Dickerson is in jail with his bail set at $1 million. Thomas was released to her parents.

Authorities say Dickerson is a career criminal who was released from prison in early August.

Police say he was taken into custody Nov. 14 for unrelated probation violations. He was questioned for several hours Thursday night into Friday morning by lawmen.

Dickerson was charged with three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, 10 counts of common-law robbery, two counts of attempted armed robbery and 15 counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Thomas was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and 12 counts of common-law robbery.

Havelock Police Chief G. Wayne Cyrus said the hard work of Havelock and New Bern police and the sheriff's office paid off.

"Without the cooperation between the three agencies, there is a chance that these crimes could have gone unsolved and that the activity could have continued," said Cyrus.

Craven County Sheriff Jerry Monette said authorities feared the robberies would become more violent.

"As the robberies escalated, everyone was concerned about someone getting injured during the robberies," he said.

The dates and locations of the robberies in which the two are charge are:

•  Oct. 26, the Fuel Warehouse on Glenburnie Road, New Bern.
•  Oct. 26, Riverdale Fuel Market on U.S. 70 East, New Bern.
•  Oct. 27, The Hampton Inn Hotel on Hotel Drive, New Bern.
•  Oct. 27, Buzzard's Corner on N.C. 55, Cove City.
•  Oct. 29, Jim Dandy convenience store in Havelock.
•  Oct. 31, Parker's Town and Country Store, on Trent Road, New Bern.
•  Nov. 2, Spunky McDoogle's on Glenburnie Road, New Bern.
•  Nov. 3, The Dollar General on Main Street, Havelock.
•  Nov. 4, The Trade-Wilco on Glenburnie Road in New Bern.
•  Nov. 5, attempted robbery at the Family Dollar Store on Neuse Boulevard in New Bern.
•  Nov. 5, Domino's Pizza on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, New Bern.
•  Nov. 6, The Hampton Inn Hotel in Havelock.
•  Nov. 6, The Beech Grove convenience store on Washington Post Road, New Bern.
•  Nov 6, attempted robbery of the Bojangles' on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, New Bern.
•  Nov. 6, New River Pottery on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, New Bern.