911 tapes describe events surrounding Pizza Hut shooting

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Newly released 911 tapes are shining a new light on the way events unfolded outside a Wilmington Pizza Hut on Friday night.

A shootout with police outside of the restaurant left two men dead and another wounded.

In a city where police have increased patrols to control the crime it appears that one officers trained eye may have made all of the difference.

On a recording sent to WWAY by New Hanover County Dispatch a Wilmington Police Officer is heard reporting suspicious activity outside of the restaurant before any calls were made to 911.

Police say around 11:45 p.m. Friday, three men approached an employee outside the Pizza Hut at 2402 S. 17th Street. Investigators say Jalani Smith, 20, Ronald Roland, 18, and Tevin Robinson, 20, all from Brunswick County, forced the employee back into the restaurant at gunpoint and robbed the people inside.

When the suspects left the building they met police officers outside. WPD says the suspects refused commands from officers and gunshots were exchanged. All three suspects were injured and taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Roland and Robinson were pronounced dead a few hours later.

Smith has been released from the hospital and is now in the New Hanover County Jail under a $1.5 million bond. He is charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, multiple armed robbery charges and four counts of first degree kidnapping.