By Kara Fohner
News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C.
CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A Granite Falls man is accused of trying to kill a Caldwell County deputy by burning down his home.
William Junior Sisk, 41, was arrested Sunday after he was identified in surveillance footage approaching the Granite Falls home of Sgt. Joey Morrison and setting fire to a door about 5:10 a.m. that day.
In the footage, Sisk appears to be talking to himself. He strides toward the home with a large bucket and tosses a liquid on the door, then walks away. A little more than a minute later, he walks back toward the house, clicking a lighter. He spends several minutes attempting to light what appears to be a piece of paper. As he stands in front of the house clicking the lighter, he talks, although much of his speech is incoherent.
At one point he said, “You’re dead,” and in another instance he said something about a murder charge. He can also be heard saying, “Now you are going to die,” “You had this coming,” and, “You [expletive] that up.”
When the door catches fire, the flames are not visible in the video because the door is out of the video frame, but the light cast by the fire can be seen.
Morrison said he wasn’t home at the time, but his house sitter, Carl Coffey, was there caring for two labradoodles, Tucker and Dude. The dogs heard Sisk and started whining, and Coffey discovered the fire and put it out with a fire extinguisher, Morrison said.
“He acted fast, very good, level-headed,” Morrison said. “I would dare to say between him and the dogs, they saved my house.”
Morrison said he is staying out of the investigation to “just let the guys do their job. I know they’ll do a good job.”
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Sisk, who lives near Morrison, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson. His bond was set at $1 million secured.
Sisk previously has been convicted on numerous charges in Catawba and Alexander counties. In Catawba, he was convicted in August 2015 of assault inflicting serious bodily injury, according to court records. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 30 months on probation.
He also is awaiting trial in Alexander County on charges filed in June of breaking and entering to terrorize or injure, assault with a deadly weapon, and communicating threats, court records show.
(c)2021 the News-Topic (Lenoir, N.C.)