RICHMOND COUNTY — Deputies and investigators are conducting a death investigation in East Rockingham after Frederick Warren Loftis, 36, was found unresponsive on Hannah Pickett Avenue near Safie Sixth Street.
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is assisting with the investigation. At this time, the investigation is not classified as a homicide, but remains ongoing, and an autopsy will be conducted to help determine the cause of death,” the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Daily Journal will provide more information as it becomes available.
Earlier this week, an early morning shooting at a Central Avenue residence in East Rockingham resulted in the death of Jimmy Ray Locklear Jr., 39. Investigators charged his roommate, Casey Patrick Boone, 68, with murder. Boone is being held in the Richmond County Jail without bond.
“As the investigation remains in its early stages, further information will be released as it becomes available,” the RCSO said in a media release on Facebook.
In a separate case, a Rockingham man was arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle catalytic converter from an auto shop.
Michael David Hayes, 53, is accused of breaking into an auto shop on Cartledge Creek Road on Jan. 29 and removing the catalytic converter from a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado. Records show he then sold the part to a recycling center in Marston for $145.
Hayes faces one count each of felony breaking and entering, felony larceny, felony larceny of motor vehicle parts, felony injury to property by obtaining non-ferrous metal, and felony obtaining property by false pretense. He was booked into the Richmond County Jail on Feb. 5 under a $5,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 19.
Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s office announced that investigators and members of the Special Response Team assisted the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in executing a high-risk arrest and search warrant at a residence in the Sleepy Hollow Trailer Park off Battley Dairy Road.
“The operation was part of a homicide investigation stemming from an incident that occurred outside Richmond County,” read a media release. “The suspects were apprehended without incident. We will release further details as they become available.”