ROCKINGHAM — A recently convicted homeless man is back in jail on a trespassing charge, along with a homeless woman.
Jimmy Dean Cox, 63, and Creola Elaine Byrd are accused of trespassing at the H&R Block building on Rockingham Road on Sept. 23.
Arrest warrants — taken out by a person in charge of the premises — were issued that day and both were arrested Sept. 29. They are each being held in the Richmond County Jail on a $500 secured bond and are scheduled to appear in court Oct. 3.
Online court records show Cox was convicted of indecent exposure on Aug. 21. Cox had been arrested on the charge after defecating on the sidewalk in front of Retro Spa and Nails on Aug. 1.
He was sentenced to 20 days in jail and received credit for the 19 days he had already served, records show.
Cox was convicted May 6 on two counts of second-degree trespassing, according to online court records. Three days later, he was convicted of littering 15-500 pounds and another trespassing charge was dropped.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Cox was convicted of manslaughter in 1977 at the age of 15.
Court records show Byrd has several pending counts of second-degree trespassing over the past two months. She has also been cited for violating a recent Rockingham ordinance that prohibits camping on city-owned property.
Byrd appears to have no prior convictions.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
