The [Henderson] Daily Dispatch
WILBOURNS -- A fire that resulted in at least $750,000 in damage to a Granville County man's barn and property is being investigated as arson.
Sheriff Brin Wilkins said the State Bureau Investigation believes the fire on the farmland of James Faucette, 62, was "possibly set." And according to the sheriff's incident report, $24,200 worth of property was stolen.
Missing are:
- A Polaris four-wheel all-terrain vehicle valued at $8,000.
- A Featherlite seven-by-18 car hauler valued at $5,000.
- A Manco four-wheel all-terrain vehicle valued at $3,500.
- A Honda generator valued at $2,700.
- A John Deere lawn tractor valued at $2,000.
- A Porta Cable air compressor valued at $1,200.
- A Browning 30-06 rifle valued at $1,200.
- A pump shotgun valued at $600.
The fire happened on Aug. 19 off Lonnie Harris Road in the far rural northwestern part of the county and near the North Carolina-Virginia border. Firefighters from Cornwall and Virgilina, Va., responded.
The sheriff's incident report said the damage to the barn was $750,000 pending a complete inventory of the property.
Three vehicles and two all-terrain vehicles were destroyed because they were in the barn at the time of the fire, County Fire Marshall Doug Logan said.
Anyone with any information is urged to phone the Sheriff's Department at (919) 693-3213, go to the department at 143 Williamsboro St. in Oxford or approach the nearest law enforcement officer.
This is not the first time Faucette has been victimized.
During the Jan. 20 County Commission meeting, Faucette told of his having to deal with one cow dead and another wounded after both were shot.
Wilkins said there is no proof of any connection between the fire and what happened to Faucette's two cows.
