After nearly a year on the run, Burton burglary, assault suspect faces charges

After evading law enforcement for nearly a year, a 36-year-old Burton man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and faces multiple charges in connection with an October 2015 burglary and assault in Grays Hill.

Robert Leon Singleton was discovered after a recent tip submitted to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office about Singleton’s whereabouts, including his most recent place of work, Cpt. Bob Bromage said on Thursday.

Singleton faces charges of first degree burglary, pointing and presenting a firearm, second degree assault and battery, possession of a firearm during a violent crime and possession of a stolen firearm.

At about 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2015, Singleton allegedly banged on the door of his cousin’s house on Shannon Lane, demanding to be let in to retrieve his cell phone from the mother of his two children who was there for the night, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. About 20 minutes beforehand, deputies responded to their shared home across street after a domestic incident and “physical altercation,” but Singleton fled from the house before they arrived, according to the report.

Singleton’s cousin told him to go home but he refused, threatening to kick the door down, according to the report. His cousin opened the door and Singleton entered, pistol in hand, demanding his phone, according to the report. When his cousin repeated his request for Singleton to go home, Singleton struck his cousin in the head with the pistol and the two began to scuffle, according to the report.

The fight moved from the doorway to the bedroom where the mother of his children and their one-year-old child were staying, according to the report.

The woman quickly gave Singleton his phone and he left the house, according to the report.

Singleton is being held in Beaufort County Detention Center.

This story was originally published September 22, 2016 at 3:52 PM with the headline "After nearly a year on the run, Burton burglary, assault suspect faces charges."