ROCKINGHAM — Police have made an arrest in the death of a man who was found burned inside his home last September.
Diquon Cox, 22, is charged with killing Robert Watkins on Sept. 4, 2016.
Fire crews received the call around 4:40 that Sunday morning and responded to 127 South Skipper St., where they found the house 80 percent involved with flames, Rockingham Fire Chief Harold Isler previously told the Daily Journal.
He said the flames were shooting out of the roof 30 to 35 feet into the air, and he could see them rising above the treeline from the intersection of South Long Drive and U.S. 1 while he was on his way.
Isler and Matthew Locklear made the first entry into the home with a hose to suppress the fire, but said they backed out when the roof collapsed on the back side of the house.
With 17 firefighters and two engines on-scene, Isler sent in a primary search team of Keith Kottwitz and Nick Wolfard, who found the body of a man on a couch in the living room area.
Isler said he advised them to leave the body where it was.
“With the conditions…I knew the chances of having a (savable life were) slim to none,” he said.
Firefighters went back in on a secondary search, but no other victims were found.
“We didn’t know how many people could have been in there,” Isler said.
According to the chief, it appears the fire started at the back of the house, where he noticed that the floor was burned out.
Rockingham Police Chief Billy Kelly told the Daily Journal at the time that Watkins — who had not been identified initially — sustained injuries that were not caused by the fire, but would not release any more details, as to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
Kelly told the Daily Journal on Friday, following Cox’s arrest, that there were also several dogs in the home.
Cox is charged with one felony count each of first-degree murder and first-degree arson, as well as a single misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail at 3 p.m. Friday, according to jail records. Cox is currently being held without bond.
According to online records with the N.C. Court System and the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction, Cox has no other current pending charges or past criminal convictions in the state.
However, in a previous story in the Daily Journal, Cox was the victim of a shooting on May 9, 2016. Police said he was shot twice — once in the leg and once in the arm — in the parking lot of the Hamlet Food Mart.
Brian Devonte Dowdy, also known as “Billy Juice,” was charged in that incident.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.