LUMBERTON, NC (WBTW) – Lumberton police have charged someone with murder after a man was found lying in the front yard of a home on Peachtree Street Wednesday night.
James Matthew McDougald, 37, of Kennedy Circle in Lumberton, has been charged with first degree murder, possession of a firearm by convicted felon and possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana.
Officers were called to 1106 Peachtree Street around 10:55 p.m. Wednesday night, according to Captain Terry Parker. When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive man, identified as 48-year-old James Bethea, lying in the front yard. The man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police add that they don’t know whether or not Bethea lived in the home he was found near and the victim’s cause of death will be released after an autopsy is performed.
The Lumberton Police Department is being assisted in this investigation by the Robeson County District Attorney’s Investigator Mr. Erich Hackney and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, adds Capt. Parker.
McDougald has no bond on the murder charge, and $100,000.00 bond on the remaining two charges. He is being held in the Robeson County Detention Center.
Anyone with information concerning this case should contact Detectives Jennifer White or Evan Whitley at the Lumberton Police Department 910-671-3845.