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Published: 2012-12-23 16:11:00
Updated: 2012-12-23 16:11:00

Posted: December 23, 2012

Resident charged with setting fire to Apex assisted living facility

Bobby Earl Holden
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Bobby Earl Holden
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Apex, N.C. — A Wake County man with a history of arson convictions has been accused of setting fire to the Apex assisted living center where he lived, according to police.

Bobby Earl Holden, 50, was charged Friday with first-degree arson and placed in the Wake County jail under a $250,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in court Monday.

More than 50 residents and workers were at Brookridge Assisted Living Center, 312 Lynch St., when the fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, but no one was injured. The fire was contained to a utility room.

Holden has three convictions for arson and one for burning a public building, all in Wake County, dating to 1988, according to state Division of Adult Correction records. He has also been convicted of assault on a female and served more than seven years in prison.

  • Web Editor: Anne Johnson
Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

4 Comments


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Latest Comments
It's obvious that this man is mentally ill. He doesn't belong in prison, and doesn't belong in an "assisted living center." A casualty of de-institutionalization, alas.
Click to view my profile Snakebite Survivor
December 24, 2012 1:21 p.m.
WHY is someone like this allowed in an assisted living facility? -- comment

He paid his "debt" to society and qualified for the care. Perhaps a full disclosure of arrest and mental health records is in order for those selecting homes. He'll get another several years for this in prison. IMagine being locked up with this man.
Click to view my profile djofraleigh
December 24, 2012 11:09 a.m.
after the 2nd offence they should have been considering KEEPING him in jail. not letting him go back to set more fires. this si obviously a person who is NOT fit to be back in society.
undergroundsociety2
December 24, 2012 8:48 a.m.
WHY is someone like this allowed in an assisted living facility? Seems wrong somehow.
Click to view my profile Scubagirl
December 24, 2012 8:09 a.m.
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