Sheriffs investigate suspicious fire

CLAYTON -- One home and one camper have been burned to a singe in a fire that the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office suspects was caused by arson.

“At this point we’re considering it a very suspicious fire,” said Sheriff’s Captain Chris Strickland.

Both fires were started in the middle of the day, first the camper on Sunday afternoon, then the home on Monday afternoon.

Grey Satterfield is the owner of the property in the 600 block of Dairy Road. He said 20 years ago, he used to live in the home that was destroyed and it has sat vacant ever since, inviting a string of vandals to deface it over the past year.

The windows were blown out, furniture inside the home was ripped apart, and the sheetrock was punctured with heaps of holes.

“Anything they could find to break or destroy, they pretty much did,” said Satterfield.

A music teacher in Raleigh was living in a camper on the property behind the home.

“I told him when he moved there the property had been vandalized several times but he was just looking for a quiet place in the country to live and didn’t mind,” Satterfield said.

“I feel worse for him than for me,” Satterfield said. “All I lost was property and he lost his home.” The man renting the camper, who has not been identified, had not been on the property since Wednesday and was notified about the fire by Satterfield.

Satterfield also believes the fires are arson-related.

Determined to find who started the fires, Satterfield has offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who has information about the fires that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call: 919-986-4394. All interviews will be confidential.