A body has been recovered from a home reportedly intentionally burned by a man during a standoff with deputies. It started around 5:15pm Friday on Foxglove Drive, Garner in the Cleveland community in Johnston County.
Officers were initially dispatched to a suspicious person call on Foxglove Drive but before they arrived the call was upgraded to a report of a man outside his home armed with a gun allegedly threatening harm to his wife and children.
Deputies arrived as the suspect went back into his home and refused to come out. Officers made contact with several neighbors and learned that one of them had been physically assaulted by the individual before they arrived.
As a precaution nearby homes were evacuated. Officers also made contact with the man’s wife and confirmed neither she nor the children were at home.
That’s when deputies said they heard popping sounds then saw a fire inside the residence.
Firefighters cautiously extinguished the blaze and later recovered a body inside near the kitchen area. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. The name of the individual has not been released.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted with the investigation by the Johnston County Fire Marshal’s Office and State Medical Examiner’s Office.
A GoFundMe Page has been established to help the surviving wife and child who lost everything.
