Ex-employee charged with robbing, killing elderly Dunn man

Dunn, N.C. — A 76-year-old man was beaten, robbed and killed at his Dunn home Sunday morning by his former employee, according to the Harnett County Sheriff's Office.

James Robert Davis, 56, of an unknown address, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Charles C. Stewart, who was found dead at 276 Jernigan Road.

Sheriff Larry Rollins said that Davis broke into the home around 10:30 a.m. and beat Stewart and his 62-year-old wife, Sharon. Davis stole firearms, jewelry and cash and fled in the couple's 2011 Chevrolet van, authorities said.

A 911 caller reported the assault and home invasion at 10:57 a.m. Deputies found Stewart dead outside the rear of the home and his wife inside the home. She had suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital.

Davis was caught at an abandoned house in the 400 block of Grady Road in Clinton at 7:40 p.m., authorities said. The stolen van was also found there.

Davis was charged with first-degree murder, and additional charges are pending.

Rollins said that Davis used to work for Stewart and was let go about a year ago.

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I'm sick of hearing everyone has a mental illness - or add - or adhd. Take responsibility. That is the problem, if you can blame your ignorance on something else- you will. If the laws made people be held accountable without lawyers crying about how life was unfair- we would have a much better place to live.

thought
December 31, 2012 4:21 p.m.

I didn't see in this article that this man is mentally ill, so could it be that he is just mean as ----? We must always find a ligit excuse for everything and meaness is usually the reason for most of this mess.

puzzled
December 31, 2012 3:45 p.m.

"Davis stole firearms"

So much for the argument that gun ownership prevents crime! On top of that, the man who DID commit the crime wound up with MORE weapons! Yee-haw!

davidk_at_unc
December 31, 2012 3:11 p.m.

most people to commit murder aren't terminally "crazy". i believe, based on the cases i've witnessed, they snapped. i've had old friends who committed suicide and were perfectly normal growing up. i've seen others commit murder and were normal people in the past. its plain and simple. life becomes too hard for some people and they eventually lose their minds. if people had jobs, crime would be eradicated (for the most part). unemployment makes no sense with record number billies and millies walking around. but biblical prophesies are real...

kmt
December 31, 2012 1:58 p.m.

It's sad to see yet another who covets what someone else has and kills to get it. -Truly American Are you posting about street criminals, polluting industries, health insurance companies, or all of the above?

I don't know why we continue to be shocked by these events. We live in a society that glorifies guns and taking matters into one's own hands. It's a society where mental illness is largely ignored and considered unimportant by lawmakers. It's a society with almost universal access to powerful firearms.