DENVER, N.C.,None — Police arrested 23-year-old John Gaddy on Wednesday night and charged him with first-degree murder in the death of a man found in a burning home.
Gaddy lives at 1145 Oakbrook Lane, which is near where the homicide occurred.
Firefighters said they found Jimmy Cole's body inside a burning house on Oakbrook Lane, off Optimist Club Road in Denver, early Wednesday morning. A neighbor called 911 just before 8 a.m. after seeing smoke coming from the home.
Police said evidence found at the scene led them to investigate Cole's death as a homicide.
Linda Hall, who knew Cole and Gaddy, said Cole was a quiet man who rarely dealt with his neighbors.
"It's terrible," she said. "It's unbelievable."
Investigators haven't released a motive in the killing.
"I just don't know really what to think about," she said. "It's a real shock."
Investigators spent hours collecting evidence from the home. They said about two hours before the fire was reported, trucks were broken into nearby and someone tried to kick in the back door to a home.
Police said Gaddy was found guilty of breaking into a neighbor's home in 2004. In fact, police said, that neighbor is the same one who called 911 about the fire.
WSOC
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