Man arrested in Roanoke Rapids homicide

Roanoke Rapids, N.C. — The Halifax County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in a slaying outside a Roanoke Rapids home early Friday.

At 12:40 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a call from a man saying that he had shot someone and that the victim was lying in his front yard.

First responders found Delwin Jones, 31, of Roanoke Rapids, lying in the front yard of a Huckleberry Bottom Road home that belongs to Mayo Hawkins, 55. Jones had suffered a gunshot wound in his torso, deputies said.

Paramedics took Jones to Halifax Regional Hospital. He was then airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, where he was pronounced dead.

Deputies detained Hawkins at the scene and then charged him with murder. Deputies said they found the suspected murder weapon in a pile of debris behind the home.

Investigators believe that Hawkins became angry during an altercation with Jones and then pulled out a shotgun and fired a round.

Hawkins was being held in the Halifax County Jail without bond Friday morning. His first court appearance was set for April 22.