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Sheriff: Man died after 'gun battle' outside Orange home

An Orange County man was found dead in a yard north of Hillsborough on Wednesday after what the sheriff said appeared to have been a "gun battle."

Posted Updated

By
Rosalie Fodera
, WRAL Breaking News reporter
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — An Orange County man was found dead in a yard north of Hillsborough on Wednesday after what the sheriff said appeared to have been a "gun battle."

A nearby resident found James Otis Kithcart, 62, dead at about 11:30 a.m. on Paul Lane, off Coleman Loop Road, authorities said.

"I just come in the driveway, and he’s laying in the driveway. I walked over to him, and he’s laying there dead," the neighbor told a 911 dispatcher. "I haven’t been in the house. The front door’s open, but I did not go to the door. It looks like he’s been here a while. The blood is dry."

Sheriff Charles Blackwood said the man was lying in his driveway with a gun in his hand. He had been shot several times, and numerous shell casings were found near his body, the sheriff said.

Authorities said a resident in the area reported possibly hearing gunshots at 3:25 a.m.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Anyone with any information about the shooting is asked to call sheriff's investigator Dylan Hendricks at 919-245-2951.

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