Arson charges dropped against teen, filed against another

CLAYTON -- The Johnston County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed charges against a 13-year-old accused of setting fire last month to an unfinished day care center. Police charged a 14-year-old with the crime last week.

The teen who now faces charges admitted he or she was involved in the April 5 fire and said the 13-year-old was also involved, according to prosecutors in the district attorney’s office. But the 14-year-old recanted this statement, so charges against the other teen have been dropped, prosecutors said.

The blaze that destroyed the day care center at 55 Hawkesburg Drive was the sixth fire of unfinished buildings police had investigated in the area since October.

Less than two weeks after the day care fire, police charged the 13-year-old from Clayton with two felonies: breaking and entering and burning a building under construction.

Investigators said at the time that they believed the teen likely slipped from his or her home the morning of April 5, drove a family car to the site of the fire and returned home before dawn.

The 13-year-old was in police custody on May 2 when two homes under construction on Skygrove Drive were burned, increasing the number of recent arson cases to eight, according to prosecutors.

Kelly Sandling, an assistant district attorney in Johnston, said she could not give further details about the case or what led to the dismissal of charges and the new charges against the 14-year-old.

District Attorney Susan Doyle said she doesn’t know specifics about the case. She said she assigned Sandling and another assistant to the case because she was campaigning for the primary race held earlier this month.

“I knew this case needed a lot of attention,” Doyle said.

Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen said he thinks all the fires could be connected and that dismissing charges against the 13-year-old could help the investigation.

“All possibilities are being considered,” Allen said.

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call Clayton police at 919-553-4611, the State Bureau of Investigation at 919-571-4858 or Clayton Crime Stoppers at 919-359-8479. A $20,000 is being offered.