FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A man drove a truck into part of a Japanese restaurant after getting into a fight with other customers early Sunday morning, according to Fayetteville police.
At about 12:18 a.m. officers said they were called to Mikoto’s, a Japanese restaurant along the 7900 block of Raeford Road, in reference to a disturbance in the parking lot.
They said the caller told them several shots had been fired at a pickup truck that was leaving the scene.
When police arrived, they determined that 22-year-old Joshua Caleb Hunt had been in a fight with other people in the outdoor seating area of the restaurant.
Investigators said he appeared to be under the influence of an ‘impairing substance’ when he left the restaurant and got into a white pickup truck in the parking lot.
Hunt intentionally drove the truck through the outside seating area of the restaurant and hit some of the customers, according to the police department.
Police said he then reversed the truck back into the seating area, hitting the customers a second time.
They said two of the customers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and a third person declined transport.
Shots were fired at the truck and it fled the scene, according to officers.
They said the person who fired the truck has not been identified as of yet.
Officers said they found the truck, Hunt and another man that Hunt was with at the time of the incident.
They arrested both men.
Police later determined that the other man was not involved in the actions of Hunt, and they released him.
Hunt is charged with:
- Two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injuries
- Assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injuries
- Damage to real property
- Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle
Police said the truck was considered the ‘deadly weapon’ in reference to the charges.
He was taken to the Cumberland County Jail and received a $300,000 bond.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Fayetteville / Cumberland County Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers information can also be submitted electronically, by clicking here to complete the anonymous online tip sheet, or by downloading the FREE “P3 Tips” app.
