CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The North Carolina man accused of killing a Putnam County man found next to a burning car in Kanawha County in June is back in West Virginia after fighting extradition from his home state.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Harold Patterson, 27, of Laurinburg, North Carolina, arrived in West Virginia on Friday. He is charged with first-degree murder after a body, later identified as Joseph Lovett, 28, of Hurricane. was found on Cabin Creek Road next to a burning vehicle.
The autopsy report led the case to be investigated as a homicide, and Patterson was arrested in North Carolina on June 17. At the time of his arrest, Lovett had not been positively identified.
Patterson initially waived his extradition rights but changed his mind and remained in North Carolina for the last month. He is scheduled to appear in Kanawha County Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing on July 27. He’s being held without bail.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office identified Patterson as a suspect with assistance from the Scotland County (NC) Sheriff’s Office, Laurinburg (NC) Police Department, West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office, West Virginia Fusion Center, and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.