A Massachusetts man is in jail after allegedly making off with cash, jewelry, and a GMC Envoy.
The Kinston Department of Public Safety reports Karl Lee Covington Jr., 21, entered The Tobacco Cove on Hardee Road shortly after 5:17 p.m., Monday, and allegedly assaulted the clerk on duty with two knives, demanding money.
A KDPS news release states the clerk was able to free himself, but not before Covington departed the store after allegedly acquiring an undisclosed amount of cash, $100 in necklaces and bracelets, and taking the clerk’s gold 2003 GMC Envoy.
Officers reported to the scene of the crime at approximately 5:33 p.m., and released a be-on-the-lookout notice for the vehicle. At about 5:10 a.m. Tuesday, officers spotted Covington and arrested him in the 1500 block of West Vernon Avenue. Officers found the vehicle in the 1000 block of Harvey Court.
Covington was charged with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and placed into the Lenoir County Detention Center on a $60,000 bond.
Records from Massachusetts reveal Covington was arrested in Chicopee on June 8, 2012 on three charges of breaking and entering a motor vehicle at night, three charges of larceny under $250 and one charge of larceny of a motor vehicle.
He was also charged with armed robbery in April 2011 in his hometown of Springfield, Mass. relating to two thefts of cash and mobile phones.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.