Employee charged in setting Pikeville Town Hall on fire
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on February 7, 2018 1:54 PM
Full Size
Kelvin Robinson
PIKEVILLE -- The State Bureau of Investigation arrested a Pikeville employee and charged him with allegedly setting fire to the Pikeville Town Hall and stealing $900 in cash.
The SBI arrested Kelvin Robinson, 38, of Goldsboro, on Feb. 1 and charged him with one count of the burning of certain public buildings and one count of larceny by employee.
Robinson, a public works employee since July 2014, was placed on administrative leave without pay the day of his arrest, said Lisa Pate, Pikeville town administrator.
Robinson had his first court appearance Monday and was fired from his post with the town on Tuesday, Pate said. Robinson has been placed in the Wayne County Detention Center under a $25,000 secured bond.
The Pikeville Police Department has been working with the SBI on the investigation into the November blaze that engulfed the town's double-wide modular, on West School Street.
The extent of the damages and estimated losses have not been disclosed, Pate said.
"It's still under investigation," Pate said.
Pikeville-Pleasant Grove Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ken Jones said the fire led to a total loss of contents. Portable police radios were destroyed and officers relied on radios that were provided by Wayne County Emergency Services.
The town hall has been moved to the Pikeville Community Center, at 105 W. School St., where town offices and the Pikeville Police Department are located.
"For now, this will be our permanent residence," Pate said.
The Pikeville town board is also holding its monthly meetings at the center, on the first Monday of every month, at 5:30 p.m.
The center, which offered residents and others the opportunity to rent the facility for parties and events, is no longer available. Residents can still use the nearby park and ball field, she said.
"We don't have anywhere for them to rent anymore," Pate said.
Pate said town records were destroyed and there are some efforts to salvage some items, including receipts related to rentals planned at the Community Center.
Additional work, including the addition of walls and other construction, are planned inside the community center. Long-term plans for the Town Hall have not been decided, Pate said.
"That hasn't been discussed, except that we're staying permanently where we are at the moment."