HOFFMAN — A 19-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Moore County man who was reported missing over the weekend.
According to Sheriff Mark Gulledge, investigators on Thursday charged Bradley Alan Martin of Hoffman in the death of 41-year-old Lawrek Mathas Bittle of Aberdeen.
On Sunday, May 1, investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to James G. Watson Road, between Marston and Hoffman, for a missing person report, with deputies assisting in the search for Bittle throughout the night, according to a press release.
The investigation continued through the week, with a group of friends and family members forming a search party — which reportedly found remains in the search area.
“Our investigators worked diligently through the night and into the early morning hours to effect the arrest of Martin,” Gulledge said in a statement.
The release did not indicate the manner or cause of death, or when or where the body was found.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, Office of the State Medical Examiner and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, according to the release.
Martin was booked into the Richmond County Jail at 2:46 a.m. Thursday and is being held without bond.
Online records show Martin has no other pending charges or prior convictions in the state.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
