LEXINGTON, N.C. — Lexington police said two men are dead and a 3-year-old girl is fighting for her life in a hospital after a robbery and arson at an apartment home. A Winston-Salem man is behind bars for the crime.
The investigation began Wednesday night on Burgess Street. Police and firefighters got a call about smoke coming from an apartment. The 911 caller also said there was blood on the steps and a gun in the parking lot. Police said because of that information, they forced their way into the smoky home. That's where they found two men with life-threatening injuries. One of them was the child's grandfather. EMS pronounced both men dead at the scene.
Police then found the little girl with traumatic injuries. They picked up the child and ran to nearby firefighters, who helped the child until Davidson County EMS arrived. First responders rushed the child to Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem. Police said the girl had serious injuries unrelated to the small fire. Police identified the victims as Lionel Coker, 56, of Lexington and Robert Lee Stowe, 61 of Winston-Salem. They didn't give further details on her injuries or the two men who died, only saying there were many and they were serious.
Police arrested Brian Keith Moses, 54, of Winston-Salem Thursday morning. Officers said a neighbor on Burgess Street identified a car that investigators later identified as Moses's. He's charged with two counts of murder as well as arson. He also faces a robbery charge as police said cash money was stolen from the house.
Police said Moses knew the two victims and this wasn't a random act.