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Clayton Youth Held in Day Care Center Fire
A 13-year-old Clayton youth has been charged with Breaking & Entering and Burning of a Building Under Construction, both felonies, in connection with the April 5 early morning fire that destroyed a local day care center.
The youth, whose name was not released, is being held in an undisclosed youth detention center awaiting a Johnston County Juvenile Court hearing.
"The investigation tends to indicate that the juvenile slipped surreptitiously out of the residence and left driving a family car during the early morning hours of April 5 and travelled to the area of the fire, before returning home in the pre-dawn hours," according to a statement from Police Chief Glen Allen. "These charges were filed after lengthy consultation with the Office of the District Attorney. The Clayton Police Department will not address further details of this fire or subsequent investigation because a juvenile has now been charged and a criminal case prosecution is pending."
Chief Allen didn't disclose whether the youth is a suspect in an investigation of other suspicious fires in the same area.
The fire, which destroyed the day care building just two months before it was slated to open, is just the latest in a string of suspicious fires in the area that have been under investigation for the last few months. Clayton police and fire officials are are being assisted by the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The April 5 fire destroyed the 14,000-sq.ft Building Blocks Child Care and Development Center which was under construction on Hawkesburg Drive near the new Powhatan Elementary School. The blaze, which was reported at 3:52 am, attracted firefighters from Clayton, Wilson's Mills and Garner.
Police are asking residents to report any suspicious activity in the area by calling the Department at 919-553-4611 or anonymously on the CrimeStoppers hotline at 919-359-8479.
Recently, CrimeStoppers helped police solve a vandalism case that delayed construction of the new Clayton Community Center, which had its Grand Opening Sunday.