UPDATE: On Thursday, the Carteret County sheriff’s office arrested and charged Jeffrey Alan Joseph, 49, of Whitehouse Fork Road in Peletier, with second-degree arson. He was charged after his release from Carteret Health Care in Morehead City. Joseph was being held under a $75,000 secured bond. He had a scheduled court appearance for Friday.
On Friday, Joseph had an additional charge of second-degree kidnapping from a domestic violence situation that happened inside the home before the standoff.
His bond was increased to $270,000 overall.
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PELLETIER, N.C. (WNCT) — A suicide situation that was taking place Wednesday night at a home in Carteret County later turned into an active battle to put out a fire where the negotiations were taking place.
Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck confirmed to WNCT’s Claire Curry just after 9 p.m. Wednesday that negotiations were underway with a person who threatened to commit suicide. The situation initially began after a reported domestic violence incident around 7 p.m. Wednesday
Raw interview with Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck
The situation was unfolding at a home on Whitehouse Fork Road, just east of NC Hwy. 58. Buck later said the individual threatened to pour gasoline in the house where he was at and set it on fire. He also said the home did not belong to the suicide suspect and was a rental.
Deputies secured the area and fire crews from Western Carteret Fire & EMS Department and Emerald Isle Fire Department were called in to assist, Buck said. The Carteret County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team was also called in to assist.
Just before 10 p.m., officials said Joseph allegedly set the house on fire and refused to come out. That prompted firefighters to step in to battle the blaze, which could be seen from miles away. Video from viewer Scott Benford that was sent to Curry just before 10 p.m. showed the massive fire taking place at the home.
Buck said members of the Special Response Team were able to pull the suicide suspect out of the home after he was seen near an open window. He was taken to Carteret Health Care for treatment of his injuries and a mental health evaluation.
Buck said Thursday nobody else was in the home and there was no threat to residents in the area. Roads were closed leading to the home during the situation.
Fire stations from Swansboro and Broad and Gales also responded to the fire.