UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A suspect was arrested for murder after a man was found dead in his home late Sunday, the Union County Sheriff's Office said.
Ricky Darren Aldridge, 52, was charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
An autopsy will be performed on 44-year-old Patrick Charles Mooney to determine the cause of death.
Deputies were called to a home on Trull Hinson Road in Wingate for a welfare check around 9:30 p.m., investigators said. A man told police he went by the home earlier that day after not being able to reach Mooney for a couple of days.
When the man got to the house, he said Mooney did not come to the door and would not answer his phone. That's when he called police to check on him.
When deputies got to the house, they discovered Mooney’s vehicles on the property and his home secured, so they had to force their way inside. That's when they found Mooney's body.
Deputies said there were obvious signs of a struggle, and Mooney had stab wounds. Investigators believed Aldridge visited Mooney early Saturday and returned later that morning to rob him.