The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

July 1, 2009

Fayette man charged with burglary, arson in December incident

By Amelia A. Pridemore

A Fayette County man was arrested after authorities say he burglarized a house and burned it right after the homeowner was killed in a car accident.

Andrew Jackson Sedlock IV, 31, of Hico, is charged with arson, daytime burglary and petit larceny, according to Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler. Sedlock was arrested just after midnight Wednesday at his parents’ house in the Hico area. He was taken into custody without incident.

Sedlock has been released on $15,000 bond.

On Dec. 15, 2008, William Sexton of Stringtown Road, Hico, was killed in a vehicle accident on U.S. 60 in Hico, Kessler said. Sexton’s pickup truck overturned.

Less than an hour later, a structure fire was reported at Sexton’s home, Kessler said. Firefighters believed the blaze was intentionally set, and Deputy W.K. Willis, the sheriff’s arson investigator, was dispatched to the scene.

Willis determined the fire had been intentionally set and that the residence had been burglarized beforehand, Kessler said. He discovered a newly purchased flat-screen TV and two pit bulls had been stolen, but he could not determine whether other valuables were taken.

Sunday, Willis recovered the TV from a residence in the Smales Branch Road area, near Fayetteville, Kessler said. Willis found out the TV had been purchased from Sedlock.

At the time of his arrest, Sedlock was free on bond with a pending second-offense DUI charge, Kessler said.

Personnel participating in the arrest also included Cpls. S.M. Gray, S.M. Campbell, S.R. Morris and T.N. Mooney; Deputies W.K. McGraw and W.R. Callison; and Detective R.K. Perdue.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com

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