ROCKINGHAM — Investigators have charged a man in connection to a weekend fire at an occupied home in the Little Philadelphia community.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to a fire at a residence on Hummingbird Drive on Saturday, July 29.
The homeowners reportedly told deputies that they had come home to see a man in their yard who said he set their basement on fire.
That man was identified as 49-year-old Michael Leon Brown of Rockingham, according to the sheriff’s office.
Following an investigation, warrants were obtained for Brown’s arrest, charging him with three counts of first-degree arson because the home was occupied when the fire was started, the RCSO reports.
Brown was arrested the following day and booked into the Richmond County Jail where he is being held on a $150,000 secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 17.
Online court records show Brown was slated for court Tuesday on traffic violations.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show that although Brown has a criminal history, he’s had no convictions for more than a decade.
Brown was first convicted in 1998 on three counts of misdemeanor larceny. Two years later, he was given probation when convicted of felony larceny and breaking and entering. Brown’s probation was revoked and he served two consecutive sentences totalling nearly 17 months.
In 2005, Brown was again convicted of felony larceny and again given probation.
However, his probation was revoked the following year when he was convicted of assault inflicting serious injury, assault on a female, communicating threats and domestic criminal trespassing, resulting in a 10-month incarceration.
Brown’s most recent conviction was for violating a protective order in 2010.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
