The Free Press
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued a Silver Alert on Friday, March 29, 2013 at approximately 4:50 pm for a missing and endangered woman at the request of the Winston Salem Police Department.
The Silver Alert requested citizens and law enforcement to be on the lookout for Melissa Anne Jenkins, 60, of Winston Salem. It was believed that Jenkins was operating a white 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee displaying a North Carolina registration and was possibly traveling to the Manteo area.
Silver Alerts are issued for persons believed to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.
On Sunday, March 31, 2013 at approximately 10:25 am, the Robersonville Police Department attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a white Jeep Grand Cherokee on US64 west. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit began.
The vehicle traveled into Edgecombe County on U.S. 64 West where N.C. Highway Patrol troopers and other law enforcement agencies were requested to assist in the pursuit.
At approximately 10:40 am, the vehicle pulled onto the shoulder at mile marker 482 due to a flat tire.
The lone occupant, the driver, was armed with multiple weapons and was ordered to exit the vehicle but failed to respond to law enforcement commands.
Law enforcement personnel tirelessly attempted to negotiate with the driver to surrender but were unsuccessful.
At approximately 11:45 am, the driver exited the vehicle and pointed a weapon directly at law enforcement officers who returned fire, fatally striking the individual. As a result, the driver died.
The deceased has been identified as Melissa Anne Jenkins, 60, of Winston Salem.
The following troopers have been placed on administrative duty pending the investigation — which is standard operating procedure in trooper involved shootings:
Trooper W.R. Bulluck, 10-year veteran assigned to the Troop C District 1 patrol office located in Nash County, and
Trooper S. A. Stone, 5-year veteran assigned to the Troop A District 5 patrol office located in Pitt County.
In addition to the Highway Patrol, the following agencies were involved in this incident: Martin County Sheriff’s Department, Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Department, Tarboro Police Department and Robersonville Police Department.
The State Bureau of Investigation is the lead investigating agency into this incident. The investigation is on-going at this time.
