Man charged in murder of elderly man in California has Beaufort County past

Carey Lamont Reid Jr., 21, was arrested Sunday for murder in the first degree in Oceanside, Calif., according to San Diego County jail records.

The former Beaufort County resident was charged in connection to the murder of a 77-year-old man, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The article says police have speculated the man, John Roth, was killed during a burglary. Several items were stolen from the home including jewelry, a jewelry box, computer, cellphone and Chinese coins.

Roth’s wife found him dead after returning home from work. Police have not said how he died, the article says.

DNA connected Reid to the crime, it says.

According to Beaufort County court records, Reid was living on Eagle Lane in Beaufort in November 2017.

The records show he was arrested in Beaufort County for larceny/breaking into motor vehicle or tanks, pumps, where fuel or lubricants are stored and criminal conspiracy. The charges were dismissed.

The Union-Tribune article claims Reid to be a transient. Police found him sleeping in a parking lot near Roth’s home.