Suspicious activity and a foot chase led Greenville police to a teen wanted on charges of attempted murder and robbery, police reported Monday.

Eljah Rajohn Lewis, 19, of 605 Bancroft Ave., was arrested late Friday and served warrants charging him with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a Greenville Police Department news release.

Police were at the Camelot Inn, 2828 S. Memorial Drive, at 8:30 p.m. as part of a break-in investigation, a release said. As the officers entered the motel’s parking lot, they saw two men jump into the rear of an occupied vehicle. The men then exited the vehicle and ran away, the release said.

Officers chased the men and caught one of them, later identified as Lewis, the release said. They searched the area and found two handguns they suspect were thrown away by the men.

The release said officers determined one of the guns had been reported stolen and learned about the outstanding warrants. No information about incidents related to the warrants was immediately available from police.

As a result of actions in the parking lot, Lewis was charged breaking and entering a motor vehicle, possession of stolen goods, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm and resist, obstruct and delay. Police said the men did not know the people whose car they had entered.

Lewis remained jailed Monday at Pitt County Detention Center under a $600,000 secured bond.
 

A Wake County Superior Court judge signed an order at 1 p.m. Wednesday sealing 911 tapes and police documents associated with the Kathy Taft homicide investigation.
 
Judge Don Stephens, senior resident superior court judge, granted the motion filed by Wake County District Attorney C. Colon Willoughby Jr., according to Wake Superior Court documents.
 
Taft, 62, a Greenville resident and State Board of Education member, was discovered severely beaten Saturday morning at the Raleigh home of attorney John M. Geil. She had been on life support but died Tuesday.
 
A memorial service has been set for 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greenville, Wilkerson Funeral Home reported Wednesday afternoon.
 
Stephens’ order prevents the release of tapes documenting two 911 calls, two search warrants and the offense-incident report and the Willoughby's motion to seal the information. The order states all will be sealed for an initial period of 30 days, subject to court order before that time.
 
Attorneys for four North Carolina media outlets are planning to file a motion to vacate Stephens’ order.
 
Raleigh police  have been working to determine if the incident was a random act or if Taft was targeted. They have released few details about the attack at the home on Cartier Drive and the following investigation.
 
The department announced about noon Wednesday it is investigating an attempted residential burglary that occurred near the home where Taft was attacked.
 
The burglary occurred in the vicinity of the Cartier Drive crime scene, according to a release issued just after noon Wednesday.
 
The department is working to determine if that attempted burglary might be related to the Taft homicide case, the release said.

A Greenville woman attacked at a Raleigh home Saturday is on life support and her family is asking for prayers, a family friend said Monday.

Kathy Taft, 62, a member of the State Board of Education, was discovered assaulted Saturday morning and was hospitalized at WakeMed, according to the Raleigh Police Department.

The attack took place at a home reportedly owned by Raleigh attorney John M. Geil. The News and Observer of Raleigh said Geil was out of state when the attack occurred.

The friend, who asked not to be identified, has been with the family in Raleigh and said Taft’s four children and other family members are with her. “Her situation is grave; she is on life support. We are praying and hoping. All her family is there and are doing what they can in these circumstances,” the friend said.

The friend said Taft had just spent time visiting her daughter Jessica’s family in Florida. She reconnected with several friends during the three-week stay.

She had returned to North Carolina last week to attend a two-day State Board of Education meeting in Halifax County and spend time with her two sons. “She was just having wonderful family time,” the friend said.

Bill Harrison, chairman of the State Board of Education, said Taft had enjoyed her time in Florida. The family friend did not want to discuss details about the criminal investigation but said police are “pursuing a lot of leads and have a lot of evidence.”

Neighbors in Taft’s Dartmouth Drive neighborhood remain shaken by news of Taft’s assault. “Most of the time when we would see her grandchildren were visiting,” said Dr. Bill McConnell

Raleigh police on Monday continued to say their investigation has not determined whether or not the assault was a random act.

Wake Med will not confirm Taft is at the facility or give information about her injuries. "We don't have any information on Kathy Taft," a spokeswoman said.

Taft was at the home in the 2700 block of Cartier Drive, near Oberlin Road and Glenwood Avenue, when emergency medical workers picked her up, the police department reported Sunday.

Taft was appointed to the state board by former Gov. Jim Hunt in 1995. She was reappointed to serve a second term in 2003. Her term expires March 31, 2011. She was defeated by now Sen. Don Davis in the Democratic primary for a state Senate seat in 2008.

Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue asks that anyone with information that might be of assistance to detectives handling the case to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at (919) 834-HELP.

Personnel will staff that number to receive information, he said, and CrimeStoppers will offer a reward for information that helps solve the case.

The scene on Cartier Drive remained secured by police Sunday afternoon as the investigation continues, Sughrue said.

A hospital spokeswoman said she could not give a condition report Sunday afternoon.

RALEIGH — Police are investigating an assault on a longtime North Carolina Education Board member.
Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said in a news release Sunday that Kathy A. Taft was hospitalized Saturday with serious injuries. After an initial investigation, police said they were treating the case as an assault.
The News and Observer of Raleigh reported that Taft lives in Greenville but was at a Raleigh home when emergency medical workers picked her up.
Taft was appointed to the state board by former Gov. Jim Hunt in 1995. She was reappointed to serve a second term in 2003. Her term expires March 31, 2011.
Taft ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat in 2008. Her ex-husband, Tom Taft, is a former state senator from Greenville.