Man charged with murder in death of Henderson teen

Members of the Henderson Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation arrested Arthur Thomas Peace Jr., of the 1000 block of Lehman Street, and charged him with one count of first-degree murder.

Peace was held in the Vance County Jail without bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Vance County District Court for July 13.

Police said that officers found 14-year-old Clayton Batchelor Jr., of Harriett Street, dead about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on the roadside in the 1300 block of South Williams Street.

Investigators would not comment about the shooting, but Pastor John Miles, a friend of Batchelor's family, said the boy, known in the neighborhood as C.J., was riding home from a friend's house when he was shot.

"He shouldn't die like this. It's bad. It hurts," Miles said. Now we've got a grieving mother and a grandmother and aunt getting ready to bury their son, 14 years old."

Neighbors say Batchelor's death – just days after a young woman was shot nearby – is another senseless violent act in their community.

"There's so many innocent bystanders and so many gets getting gunned down in this community and in this town, it's just ridiculous," said Nakeisha Alston.