North Carolina: Sharpsburg chase ends in arrest; sheriff's deputy car hit

A fleeing suspect deliberately struck a Wilson County Sheriff's deputy car Tuesday near the end of a chase from Sharpsburg to Elm City, investigators said.  Sharpsburg Police officers were trying to stop a vehicle related to suspicious activity in the town, according to Sharpsburg Police Capt. M. Hilliard. Police had received calls of suspicious activity around the Starlight Hotel.

After being stopped, the suspect, James Joseph Herbert, 40, driving a light-colored van, sped off from the stop at U.S. 301 just outside Sharpsburg and fled to Elm City, police said. Law enforcement pursued with lights and sirens.

Herbert, of West Main Street, Sharpsburg, is a registered sex offender, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety. Records show he is registered as a result of an out of state conviction.

On Tuesday, the deputy got in front of Herbert's car and slowed him down and he did stop, but police said he then rammed the deputy's car in the back.

After subsequently being surrounded by law enforcement vehicles in Elm City, Herbert apparently refused to surrender. Hilliard said they had to break the front passenger window of the suspect's car and get him out through the window.

A sheriff's deputy and Hilliard were both checked out for injuries by EMS. Hilliard said he is OK but his hand was cut on glass from the car. Wanda Samuel, sheriff's office spokeswoman, said the deputy escaped injury.

Herbert faces charges of flee/elude arrest and assault with a deadly weapon, Hilliard said.

The Wilson County Sheriff's Office and N.C. Highway Patrol assisted.