Aaron Anonua Pinkney, 34, Brooktree Drive, Charlotte, was arrested by the Hamet Police Department in the Charlotte Probation Office for first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping.
Pinkney was charged with the murder of Charles Naploleon Bennett, 47, Spear Street, Hamlet, whose body had been found in the trunk of his own vehicle in Hamlet.
“This has been an ongoing investigation,” said Lt. Waters with the Hamlet Police Department.
Two agents from the State Bureau of Investigation and Lt. Waters traveled to the probation office in Charlotte, where Pinkney had to report for probation. They sought a DNA sample, according to Waters.
Pinkney gave the officers written consent to collect the DNA data and was subsequently interviewed in reference to the homicide in 2003.
Following the interview, he was taken into custody, Waters said.
According to Waters, DNA evidence gathered by law enforcement from the home in which Bennett lived traced back and led in the direction of Pinkney, who was living in Charlotte.
In 2003, a relative of the victim told the Hamlet Police Department Bennett had not shown up for work and that when they went to his home to check on him, they found it ransacked and a rifle was lying on the floor.
The relative asked officers to check on Bennett’s well-being, according to reports.
When officers responded to the scene, they soon found the victim’s vehicle where Bennett’s body was in the trunk.
According to the report he had received head injuries and his hands were tied behind his back.
The car was towed to the North Carolina State Lab in Raleigh where it was processed.
“There were other individuals involved,” Waters said. “Other arrests will be coming.”
It is unclear at this time as to the number of people involved in the murder.
Waters said it does appear to be a robbery or a home invasion gone awry led to Bennett’s murder.
“I know it’s a cold case and I know the family really wants closure,” Waters said.
Pinkney’s is being held in the Richmond County Jail on a $1 million bond.
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